Turkish racing prodigy Can Oncu will swap the GP paddock for the WorldSSP Championship in 2020 at the age of just 16-years-old.
The teenager shot to prominence in 2018 when, on his Moto3 World Championship debut, he sensationally won in tricky weather conditions in Valencia. At 15-years-old, Oncu succeeded Scott Redding as the youngest-ever race winner of a GP race.
Getting a full-time Moto3 seat in 2019, the full-season proved tougher for Oncu as he only scored on three occasions this season.
As such, he’ll make the switch to the 2020 WorldSBK paddock riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R prepared by a combination of Puccetti Racing and Orelac Racing, both of which also compete in the Superbike class.
Hoping to follow a trail blazed by Toprak Razgatlioglu, who scored his first WorldSBK race wins in 2019 on his way to fifth in the overall standings, Oncu will also have his career overseen by legendary four-time WorldSSP Champion Kenan Sofuoglu.
“I’m really pleased to have this great opportunity to race with the Turkish Racing Team in the Supersport world championship. My thanks go to Kenan Sofuoglu, Manuel Puccetti, the Turkish Motorcycle Federation and sponsor Red Bull, who have all contributed to this project.
“I cannot wait to get to know my team, and particularly the bike, as I’ve never ridden a 600. It will be a totally new experience for me, but I’m very confident because I know I can count on the help and experience of Sofuoglu, Puccetti and my team.
“My aim is to become the youngest rider to ever win the Supersport title. I’ll use this first season to learn, before setting out to fight for the title the following season.”
