WorldSSP racer Can Oncu and his Moto3-contesting twin brother Deniz Oncu have miraculously escaped major injury after being involved in a severe road traffic accident in their native Turkey that destroyed the vehicle they were travelling in.
The pair were en route to visit mentor and five-time WorldSSP Champion Kenan Sofuoglu when the vehicle they were travelling in was struck in a head-on collision with a lorry that, a press release states, was travelling in the wrong direction.
Images show the front end of the van caved in and badly damaged, encroaching on the three seats where Can, Deniz and an unidentified driver were sat. Despite the severity of the crash, the trio were taken to hospital but discharged hours later with mostly cuts and bruises, albeit suffering from shock.
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Can Oncu is preparing to start his second season in the WorldSSP Championship after switching to the leading Puccetti Kawasaki team for 2021, while his 17-year old twin brother Deniz Oncu will race in Moto3 with Tech 3 KTM.
“I was informed by Kenan immediately after the accident and a few hours later I spoke with Can and saw him over a video call - it was a real miracle," eponymous Puccetti Kawasaki team owner Manuel Puccetti confirmed.
“Our rider is calm now but shaken up about what happened of course. I was able to get a smile out of him by telling him that it’s as if he won a world championship today, and from April we will try to help him win another.
“It’s incredible that no one was hurt. The van was destroyed in the impact with a lorry that was travelling in the opposite direction, but that invaded the lane the brothers and their friend were in. A bad episode that will luckily sort itself out with just a few weeks of convalescence.”
Prior to competing in WorldSSP, Can Oncu made history by succeeding Scott Redding to become the youngest ever race winner in GP history when he triumphed on his Moto3 debut in the category at the 2018 Valencia MotoGP event aged 15 years and 115 days.
A difficult full season of Moto3 followed in 2019 before he was picked as the de facto successor to Toprak Razgatlioglu in the Turkish Racing Kawasaki team to compete in WorldSSP. He finished 12th overall and will partner Philipp Oettl in the official Kawasaki factory backed WorldSSP team for 2021.
