Türkiye's 5-year-old racing wunderkind makes waves under legacy of champions

​​​​​​​By Hüseyin Dogru and Fatih Cakmak

Zayn Sofuoglu, Türkiye's 5-year-old racing wunderkind, will quickly pave a path to success by competing against those who are older.

Kenan Sofuoglu, the Captain of the National Teams of the Turkish Motorcycle Federation (TMF) and five-time World Supersport Champion, is dedicated to training his 5-year-old and 12-year-old Berkay Sariay as part of his talent development project to prepare them for success as international motorcycle racers.

Sofuoglu told Anadolu that the most important factor was Zayn's genuine interest.

"I always give this example: I have an older son, but he has no interest in motorcycles or motorsports. He is more interested in football," he said.

Sofuoglu stressed that Zayn has been doing much faster times than athletes in motorcycle and karting.

"If he succeeds, he will be the youngest Turkish champion in the Turkish Motorcycle Championship next year," said Sofuoglu.

- Zayn to be one of the top candidates for Formula 1

He stressed that what he does in the race in Italy at the age of 7 - 8 is very important.

Sofuoglu said that his team will compete with Zayn in the 2025 British Championship.

"He will be competing against eight-year-olds in England when he is 6 years old. If he shows awareness in England, Zayn will be one of the top candidates for Formula 1," he said.

Touching on the difficulties of making his son work as a father, Sofuoglu said, the advantage is that the pair can spend time together all the time.

"The disadvantage is that we are currently competing in professional races as part of a team that already has its own coaches and established structure," he said.

Speaking about a record he set, Zayn said, "I reached a speed of 312 kph (94 mph), I will improve it," and added he will surpass his father and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

- Kenan Sofuoglu most successful World Supersport rider of all time

Sofuoglu heaped praises on 12-year-old Berkay Sariay, who participated in training with Zayn, saying he participated in the Turkish championships, Balkan championships and different championships in Europe and achieved successful results in each.

"I have always followed Sariay's development. When he was ready, we included him in KNN54 Riders last month. Then, a week later, Sariay won the race in Austria," he said.

Sofuoglu holds a record five Supersport World Championship (SWC) titles in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 in motorcycle racing.

The 40-year-old legend retired in May 2018 to go into politics.

He is the most successful rider to race in the history of the Supersport World Championship.