With the 2015 season having yielded a fourth Supersport World Championship crown for Kenan Sofuoglu, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider is now busy in his homeland of Turkey as he looks to promote the careers of up and coming stars.

This week, numerous young riders were diligently riding at Sofuoglu’s KNN 54 track, where the World Champion spoke to WorldSBK.com about his Selection Event.

Kenan, what was the initial thinking behind this selection process?
I wanted to make this selection event because I have a few riders that I am supporting, but some of them are so talented and so fast. I have to be honest with everybody, so I told them all that I wanted to make a selection event. With the first three, I want to enter them into the 250 Moriwaki JuniorCup next year. Then, at the end of the season, they will go into the selection event of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Of the other ten riders which I will select on Friday, one of them will race in the 250 class of the Turkish championship for the full season. That will prepare them for the future.

How do the riders get in touch with you?
I find them myself. There are many classes of Turkish championships which I always follow: motocross, supermoto and road racing. I follow everybody. When I see a couple of talented riders, I tell them that I want to help them go to Europe and I push them into road racing. So this year they started in the 250 class with a road racing bike. I also help them ride normal road bikes on the track; that is the way I help them to start in road racing. This year, at the moment I have 15 riders, but some of them are particularly talented and I’m very happy to be working with them.

Why do you feel so strong about promoting the careers of upcoming riders?
The main reason is because I was the first person to open the door for Turkish riders on the world scene. Of course, my government and the Turkish Motorcycle Federation wanted me to help the future of motorsport in Turkey. I am the only one who really knows this world quite well and I am the only one who can help these riders. I have won the Supersport World Championship four times. I cannot give much more to my country, but I can give my country new riders. I really enjoy working with the young riders. I am 31 years old and I cannot be as crazy as I want to! But they are really crazy, so to train with them and help them is really exciting for me. Toprak (Razgatlioglu) especially, as everybody can see, has been putting in some amazing results on the track and is doing a great job.

How does your collaboration with the Turkish Motorcycle Federation work?
I think the Turkish Motorcycle Federation is doing a great job. They are really pushing the young riders on and they are always asking me how to do things and how to plan. They are keen to take up my ideas when I offer them something. I have suggested a lot about how to assist the young riders, send them to compete in Europe and things like how to set up a bike. Even the President of Turkey and the head of sport are helping us, which is really good and what we need. This is the way we can find new Champions. First we have seen Toprak, who is doing a great job, and there are another three riders coming who are incredible talents and they will be very successful.