Ayhancan: "Champions Don't Make Excuses"

Ayhancan Güven, one of the most successful drivers of the young generation representing our country abroad, is a young man I have followed and admired for a long time... I had promised Atıl Atılgan a piece and an interview this month, so I caught Ayhancan in the middle of his busy schedule and sat down with him... What follows is a dense helping of motorsport talk. Consider yourself warned, and settle in accordingly...

Shall I start with a confession? I used to hate circuit racing. In the film Çiçek Abbas, the character Şakir played by Şener Şen (you know how to deliver the name, I have no doubt, with a separate stress on the Ş and the A and a slightly raised pitch) says "What is this, Ford? We're Renault people, mate," and it was as if he were defining my own divide between circuit racing and rallying. "What's a circuit? We're rally people" – thankfully few people remember my rookie years going around saying that. In later years I started to enjoy circuit racing by writing BTCC copy for a television programme. After that, commentating on plenty of circuit series as part of my job – WTCC, ETCC, GP2, GP3, IFM, WSBR, F2, F3, AutoGP, Porsche Supercup – I began to warm to this clean and tidy side of motorsport... There was none of the dust, dirt and mud of rallying. Practice, qualifying and the race were all done and dusted within two days. Then, when Turkish teams started going abroad to race, I began commentating on them. I both watched and commentated on İbrahim Okyay and Aytaç Biter with great pleasure in both WTCC and ETCC. But the name that has excited me most recently is Ayhancan Güven, who has racked up plenty of successes abroad with Porsche. Because I love improvising, I sat down opposite Ayhancan without any preparation at all. Of course I had a few key questions in mind, but beyond those it was a conversation where one thing led to another.To the interview cliché of "tell us about yourself", Ayhancan began with "I'm 19 years old and I've just finished my 14th season in motorsport", giving a sideways look to a cat that had suddenly appeared next to him. We realised that this young man, who turns into a panther on track, doesn't get on especially well with cats in normal life. "I've been in motorsport for years, God willing we'll reach a good result," he said, and we moved quickly past that part. On the way over, I wanted to carry on with one of the key questions I had in mind.

- How did you get started in motorsport? What's your starting story? And what advice do you have for young people who want to start? I'm sure you get this question a lot in your position?
- First of all, let me say this. I get this question like crazy on social media. I can't believe how often it gets asked... I've now prepared a long text to answer it. I reply to incoming questions by copy and paste, because that's the only way I can keep up. As I send a long, detailed, explanatory message, I think I satisfy the person asking. Unfortunately there is an ugly side to motorsport in our country. This sport looks like a rich person's sport. A very large proportion of the successful drivers in the country are children of former racers. There's a truth here: if you want to get somewhere in Turkish motorsport, coming from a racing family is a huge help. I can speak for myself. My father started in this sport in his thirties. He used to be a young man putting his foot down on the streets, and after he started earning his own money he entered races, progressed that way and was successful. When he saw how different things were in Europe, he realised he could no longer do this professionally himself, and he dreamed that I could do it. So my father began passing on to me the experience he had gained over all that time, and I gained at a very young age the experience he gained in his thirties. When I was just 10, I had the experience of a 45-year-old... That's why, in Turkish conditions, coming from a racing family is very important. In Europe the conditions are different. You can learn it on your own. Because there's no such culture in Turkey, racers come from families inside the racing world. With that experience laid out in front of me from a very young age, I quickly got ahead of my rivals at those ages, and from the day I started we never saw motorsport as a hobby or a weekend amusement. We thought it had to be done professionally, and I approached the sport with that awareness from a very young age. The thought that I had to go out on track and do my best was always somewhere in my mind. My father passing on his experience since I was little, and my having that awareness – those are the small factors in my success...

I think the recent "TOSFED Is Looking for a Star" project by TOSFED is an incredible initiative... There are now 41 drivers ready to be developed from scratch. Honestly, I'm waiting with great curiosity. I need rivals too. Now there's something else. Ayhancan became Champion of Champions in Turkey at 18. Becoming a champion is definitely a wonderful thing, but I can't say it had a particularly good effect on me. If I'm left alone, I can't develop myself. Yes, I'm developing by racing in Europe, but not everyone has that chance. If there's competition in the country, this sport will grow. So how does competition come about? As TOSFED has done, you select fast and talented drivers, and the rivalry between those who can carry on in the sport will develop it in Turkey. I always tell people who want to start: "Always be ready and wait for the right moment."- So what you want is this: while racing in Europe, you want Turkish drivers who can run close to you and push you...
- Mate, racing as the only Turk on the circuit really isn't very pleasant. What I want is this: if I'm fighting for victory out there, there should be a Turk fighting in the top ten, perhaps the top five. Whatever happens, I don't want to stand out by doing things on my own. Let others come too.

- We've had drivers who made the move to Europe in rallying before, but in circuit racing you are one of the pioneers. Actually I compare you a little to Kenan Sofuoğlu. You've worked hard to open this road. So what are your goals at the moment?
- I've been talking about this with President Serkan for a very long time. We have certain plans and goals together. I talk about it with Kenan abi as well, and he knows what I want to do. He tells me, "You're in my position right now." He remembers when he first started. He told me, "You're not Toprak, you're not Can and Deniz Öncü; you're in the situation I was in when I first started. You'll do everything yourself. Nobody will say to you, 'Ayhancan, if you do it this way, this will happen.' You'll go yourself, and by gaining experience there you'll open the way for the people who come after you." Perhaps they'll reach the place I'll reach over the years relatively more easily. I can only lead the way for them. For example, Kenan abi has now steered Can and Deniz towards the Red Bull Rookies Cup, where they can show themselves at their best. If I get somewhere in the future, I want to lead the way for talented people and open doors for them. This could stretch over 10–15 years. Is what Kenan abi is doing right now an easy thing? Getting Can and Deniz into the Asia Talent Cup and the Rookies Cup. But as a World Champion, Kenan abi opened a door and a path for those youngsters. My goal is to reach a position where I can support those who come after me. If you ask what my career goal is, mate, honestly, motorsport is a very strange world; you never know when or what kind of opportunity will come your way. If you had described my current situation to me two years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of it. After every race something I never expected comes up. Next year, perhaps, yes, in the near term, but where I'll be in three years I really can't predict. My goal is to become a world champion. But alongside a world title, I want to be a well-known name in the motorsport world. For example, I've never wanted to be a driver fighting for the midfield. I always want to be one of the front-runners, whatever the series. That might be WTCC, DTM, TCR, V8 Supercars, FIA GT, the Blancpain series, whichever. But my only goal is to be at the top there. - There's a topic that's always discussed: why doesn't our country produce a Formula 1 driver? Haven't you ever thought about that? Haven't you dreamed of it?
- Let me tell you the story, Yiğit abi. When Istanbul Park was under construction, there were dreams back then of producing an F1 driver too. And my age was very suitable at the time. If you were going to start developing an F1 driver, how old would he be? The age I was then... We went a bit down that road too. Back then I raced against all the drivers who are now racing in F1 or about to. Nikita Mazepin, Callum Ilott, Lando Norris, who are on the road to F1 now – I raced all of them and I was beating all of them. Of course, what I'm saying was four or five years ago. But what happened? I was 14. I somehow tried to find my karting budgets through my father, family and friends, small sponsors, that way. We ran up debts with the team, to be paid later. We could somehow manage. But then I got to 15, a driver who had finished third and fourth in the World Championship, who had won races and trophies in Italy – so I had made a name in karting. Because I had started to show myself there, people had begun to believe an F1 driver could come out of Turkey. But at the time I was about to step up to F4 and F3, we got stuck. We couldn't find the necessary support; I couldn't get support from the administration of the time. We approached them like this. We said, support us now, and if I can't do justice to the support you give me, we'll pay it back to you in the long term. We had proved ourselves. What more could I have done? A Turkish driver had emerged and was tearing it up in karting. Schumacher's son could never pass me. Neither could Häkkinen's son. But now Mick Schumacher is racing in F3. Hugo Häkkinen is in F4. I used to pass these drivers easily. But the means they had allowed them to carry on down their path, and they reached this point. So what did I do? I turned 15 and couldn't find the means. I was following them during that period. Races, tests, practice sessions – they progressed a long way. So what did I do? At the start of the year we gathered a pool again, with support from family and friends and the money we had, and started thinking about what we could do with it. I did 3–4 races here and there so I wouldn't lose my edge. Meanwhile the drivers coming up in Europe were doing at least 20 races a year, moving from series to series. They race at Europe's most important circuits. As the years went on they reached F3. Meanwhile I was again trying to put together that pool budget. While my rivals developed, I inevitably fell a bit behind. Around that time Volkan abi (Işık) advised my father to put me in a Volkicar. He said, let's see what he can do in this car. When it came to that, my father honestly put me in the Volkicar very reluctantly.
- Why didn't you want the Volkicar?
- Back then I still wanted very much to be an F1 driver, and he thought the Volkicar was logically contrary to that, that it could spoil my driving. Because he took all of that into account, he wasn't keen on my racing in the V1. But I got in the Volkicar, started racing in the V2 Challenge and broke the lap records. I set the best results ever recorded up to that point, won the series and moved up to the V1. In my first year there, when I started beating the successful drivers, I suddenly became known in Turkey. So my father's thesis was disproved and Volkan abi turned out to be right... Suddenly the support for me grew and our pool at the start of the year got bigger. And what happened because of that? In 2016 Toksport gave me a huge opportunity. Purely on the strength of my successful results in the Volkicar, they gave me the chance to race in the Porsche Cup. It was one of the biggest turning points of my career. My dream was F1, yes, but when I couldn't find that support at that age, and partly through lack of means ended up in the Volkicar, the direction changed. Unfortunately there was no continuity in my career. On the road laid out in front of me, if I had done two single-seater races and then moved to touring cars, it would have meant nothing. There would have been no order to it. So I've now made a plan in my head accordingly. Unless a really exceptional offer comes, I'm thinking of progressing in cars rather than single-seaters. If luck is on my side and I show my talent in a good team, what then? I could become Porsche Supercup champion. Then an offer from DTM comes, I go there and succeed there too. If I'm successful in these places before I turn 25, perhaps F1 doors could open for me. That's one scenario... Because there are drivers who have gone to F1 via DTM. In terms of speed, the touring car series closest to F1 is DTM... The authorities think a driver who is fast there, if his age is right too, will be fast in Formula 1 as well. Am I racking my brains over this now? Honestly, no. Because I have a longer road ahead of me. There's still a lot I need to do, and I need to develop myself more. So my goal is clear. Every time I go out for a race, I try to do my best and show myself. Because there's a truth here: in Europe, the better you go, the more doors open. So a performance in a single race could open very different doors in front of me. That's why my concern is to focus on every race I enter and do my best.
- You raced in İzmir, you raced at Körfez – you know Istanbul Park very well too, don't you?
- Mate, I haven't even been out on Istanbul Park yet.
- What do you mean?
- I live right next to Istanbul Park. I'm 3–4 kilometres from the circuit. I mean, I live one lap away from Istanbul Park and I have never been out on the track.
- But as a young driver representing our country abroad, didn't they ever say to you, come and practise here?
- My contact with Istanbul Park went like this. Two years ago there was a possibility of Formula Alfa coming. I did two races in that series. There was a chance one race would be at Istanbul Park. After all, I was going to be the home driver. When I asked the Istanbul Park management whether I could go out on track and practise, they didn't allow it because I didn't have a driving licence. First I asked for a track day. They said no to that too. I said I have a licence; again they said no. That's why I've never been able to do a lap at Istanbul Park.
A joke started going around the paddock too. Everyone knows Istanbul Park – that's a fact. They say to me, "What practice are you even doing at Istanbul Park? If there were a race at Istanbul Park, you'd go well." For me, honestly, there's no difference between the Hungaroring and Istanbul Park, because I haven't been out at the Hungaroring either. I know both from the simulator. I only know the atmosphere of Istanbul Park, because of where I live. My dream is to win a race in Turkey. What could a driver's greatest dream be? Winning a race in front of his own crowd. I watched Kenan abi's race from the grandstand. When he beat Sam Lowes in that fight and won the race, I have never seen joy and celebration like that anywhere. God willing, I'll be granted a race like that and feel that emotion too. It's sad for me, because we say our biggest problem is practice and we can't do it. I couldn't get out on Istanbul Park, whose foundations were laid almost at the same time as my career began. That creates a bittersweet feeling in me...- As far as I know, you won a race at Spa. Never mind winning there – just racing at that circuit is a huge step for a young motorsport enthusiast. You went through Eau Rouge – is there anything beyond that? So what did you feel? I'm curious about the story.
- Toksport was impressed by my results in the V1, gave me this chance and put their hand under the stone. They did something everyone in Turkey is afraid to do and backed a young driver. Genuinely, people in Turkey are afraid to do this, and I still haven't worked out why. Toksport wasn't afraid of it and supported me. And I made good use of the support they gave me. I won two of those four races: I was first at Spa-Francorchamps and at the Hockenheimring. But before getting there, I actually needed some mental support. On that front, even though we're in different disciplines, I wanted to get Kenan Sofuoğlu's opinion, I wanted to share my worries with him, and I went to Kenan abi's circuit in Sakarya. He's a very busy person and I just jumped in and went. I introduced myself to Kenan abi. He knows how things have been in Turkish motorsport for years. Wrong backers, failed results, inflated drivers – so he approached me with a bit of prejudice too. I showed Kenan abi my own in-car footage. He genuinely liked my line and my driving, and he said to me, "You're going to Spa now, aren't you. Win Spa and come back." Inside, I thought, Kenan abi, how am I going to win this race? Winning at Spa isn't that easy. On the plane I kept thinking about what he'd said. I told myself, "I have no other option, I'm going to win this race", but at the same time I was wondering how on earth I'd do it. What Kenan abi said strengthened me hugely in spirit. I had this opportunity in front of me, and Spa is a circuit I'd dreamed of so much. I went out for that race and, to be honest, I wasn't expecting it myself, but I won that race. It was a race where I came under a lot of pressure and struggled mentally, but somehow I won it.
- Did you ever think to yourself, "I'm at Spa right now, I'm going through Eau Rouge right now"? What feelings did that create in you?
- Do you know what happened to me, mate? After going through Eau Rouge and coming out onto the Kemmel straight, I know I screamed. I was screaming, "I've been through Eau Rouge, what more could I want?" – inside the car I kept saying, what more could I want... When the pace went up a bit in the race, I started to understand why Eau Rouge is Eau Rouge. Because, mate, it's something else entirely. For me it was a dream – a circuit I'd played and driven for years on simulators – and I was racing there, never mind winning. After winning that race I lived my dreams. You park your car in the parc fermé at Spa in first position. Your team greets you there. You climb onto the Spa podium – is there anything beyond that? You hold a press conference in the Spa press centre; it's a very strange feeling. And what really affected me was that when I switched my phone on after the race, Kenan Sofuoğlu – the Kenan Sofuoğlu who told me to go and win that race – had called me. I'd told him about the race when I went to see him two weeks earlier; he never asked me about it and there was no live broadcast, but he had somehow found it somewhere and watched. On the phone he said to me, "I watched you, I believe in you. I sincerely believe you can be successful in this. I'm ready to do whatever is needed for you." Meanwhile there was a change in the management too. Serkan abi came to the head of the sport. These things motivated me hugely. Because Kenan abi believed in me and was behind me. I know the sporting background of our current TOSFED president Serkan Yazıcı. I know he's someone who understands this business very well. So I started to think I could get from Serkan abi the communication and support I hadn't been able to get from the federation until then. Because I wasn't going to go to Serkan abi and just dream. I had results, and I was going to stand in front of Serkan abi with them. Right in the period Serkan abi was elected, I won the Hockenheim race. The series I was racing in was actually the Porsche Cup's third tier, but after spending the first two races scraping around, when I suddenly won the last two, I got the chance to step up to a higher category for the next season. I caught the teams' attention. Then we got in touch with Serkan abi. Serkan abi first of all, quite rightly, said, "Let me see you first", and at that very time the Champion of Champions race was coming up. He said, I'm holding this race, enter it and show yourself. Serkan abi said exactly this: I want to see the best in this race – and he invited 52 drivers. Of course, once Serkan abi said enter this race, I started dreaming of the Champion of Champions. Mate, the Champion of Champions was honestly a difficult one for me. I was confident in myself, but most people didn't think I'd win. Only a minority who knew me believed in me. I made a mistake there. Because of my heavy schedule at school, I kept skipping practice. I kept saying I'd go next week, and the day I went there was a flood in İzmir and I couldn't practise as I wanted. After that they closed the circuit to practice anyway and I ended up on a circuit I didn't know at all. I learn a circuit very quickly. In races in Europe too, if you haven't raced somewhere before, you don't get the chance to get to know the circuit in advance. But somehow I got used to the İzmir circuit and in the end I became "Champion of Champions". Thanks to that, Serkan abi's belief in me grew, and he said we're behind you and we'll do everything we can for you. This year we stepped up a gear, and the biggest share in that progress belongs to Serkan Yazıcı and of course TOSFED. With their support I felt much more at ease. In the middle of the season I had to change teams. After a mutual decision, our ways parted. I always say I owe them a debt of loyalty. When I left the team I honestly had no plan. There was a race a month later and I started looking for a team. But in the series I'd raced in a year earlier, there were Attempto Racing's gentleman drivers. We call them the "beach boys" – the ones who put on cool sunglasses and take selfies. I had caught the team's attention back then. I was at Toksport at the time, but when they heard I had left the team, they got in touch again. Meanwhile Serkan Yazıcı gave me one hundred per cent support. "Whatever decision you make, whatever you need, I'm always behind you," he said. I told Serkan abi all of these events. We put together a four-race project with the federation, which had put its hand under the stone at the start, and with the sponsors I found afterwards. By making proper use of the opportunities given to me, I reached this point. My thoughts on this are as follows. When I go out to race I have one bullet, and I have to fire it correctly. If I waste that bullet, I inevitably turn into a hobby driver. You never have an excuse. If you make a mistake or fall behind, nobody says "Ayhancan was inexperienced"... Without making any excuses, I try to do the best I can. Thank God, the number of people who believe in me grows every day. This has gradually turned into a national struggle. People are curious about what I'll do in the next race. That motivates me enormously too.- Now let's talk about Le Mans. How did you feel in the race broadcast live on Eurosport?
- Let me say this first. There was a virtual race organised by Nissan GT Academy, again at that circuit. In this race, which 2 million gamers worldwide took part in, I finished second. That's a very ambitious result. But in the end it was a simulation... I loved that circuit and I was very excited going there. I knew it was a very enjoyable but equally difficult circuit. In a game there's always a restart button, but in reality things are very different. Again, I'd prepared very well for that race. I prepared myself physically and mentally. I did a lot of research to find the best set-up for my car. Because set-up was very important at that circuit, and we did good work with my team and prepared a very good car. I think that had a huge effect on my success that weekend. We worked hard with Toksport. That race was one of the most important of my career. Because the story there is different. In front of that many spectators I made the top 10 in qualifying. Among the 80 drivers on the list, I was the only unknown name in the top ten. My being Turkish also played a part in that. They're not used to seeing a Turk at the front. During the race I give myself very unusual therapies. You know, mate, the straights at Le Mans are very long; you have time to think there, and that's a bad thing. I got a very good start, I had started tenth and by the end of the second corner I was up to fourth. There was some confusion, and there I stayed very cool-headed, made a good decision and moved up to fourth. When I got onto the Mulsanne straight I said to myself, "Ayhancan, you're fourth!!" I couldn't calm myself down on the straight. Our Porsches go into the chicane at 285 km/h. I'd reached maximum speed, I was about to start braking for the first chicane and I was trying to calm myself inside the car. I still didn't believe I was fourth. After taking that corner with good braking, I noticed this time that I was closing in on third. Calming myself down probably took about fifteen minutes. We produced a very good race until the very last moment. On the final lap I lost the podium to Dino Zampirelli, who has raced for years. In fact I lost the podium unfairly. There's a slow zone procedure at Le Mans and you can't leave the slow zone before the line. I was third, Dino was fourth; on the straight he came up behind me very easily and passed me, in other words he left the slow zone early. Physically, with cars this evenly matched, it's impossible for him to have done that. But there was nothing to be done; they hadn't spotted this rule breach. Afterwards I took something positive from it. I told myself, "You'll come across things like this your whole life, you need to be ready for this kind of unfairness too"... Everyone was very happy with this result and I wanted to enjoy it too, and I left Le Mans that way. After that we went racing at Zolder with the new team. Our collaboration there had been a bit disrupted in terms of plans, because I'd joined the squad at the last minute. But at Zolder the team focused on me with all its strength, and that weekend I won the race, also breaking the record of local hero Dries Vanthoor, and suddenly became a driver whom foreign teams wanted to talk to and whose number they wanted. As I said earlier, you never know when the big moment will come in motorsport. I broke a record, and people who wouldn't look at me two days earlier were suddenly wanting to do something with me. We have the Barcelona race ahead of us. Honestly, I feel very good mentally. I've prepared well for this race. You may have seen my car; it has a design dominated by the Turkish flag. That gives me extra confidence against my rivals – the fear I instil in them, feeling that power. That's why I feel good. Behind me I have a crowd that supports me and grows every day. I feel their support. Serkan Yazıcı and TOSFED are behind me, a racer like Kenan Sofuoğlu, whom I call my hero, is behind me. Of course you never know what will happen on track, but I feel ready for this weekend. Without dreaming too much or thinking too far ahead, my aim is to use the opportunities I have in the best possible way and relieve TOSFED in the coming seasons. I want them to say, "We supported Ayhancan, we brought Ayhancan to this point." My aim is to take this burden off their shoulders. I know the federation will always be by my side. Perhaps I'm not a burden to them; they feel great happiness about it. But I want to make this global now. I now want to draw the budget from the pool of world motorsport. If world-class successful drivers get support from that pool, I should be able to get my share too. That's my shortest-term goal right now. I always tell myself, "Ayhancan, go out on that track and do your best." Everyone knows I do the best I can. God willing, with your support too, I hope to have our national anthem played all over the world, like Kenan abi. We had a good time with Ayhancan ahead of the Barcelona race. We had a lot of fun together on the Eurosport Porsche Supercup broadcasts too. But this time, as we talked about his career, I saw in front of me a driver who knows exactly what he wants, has set his goals, is aware of the situation, and is trying to do his job well with a maturity beyond his years (while keeping the fire and the mad blood his age demands).

This is exactly what we need... Not just someone who goes fast, but a young man who, while going fast, calmly calculates his next steps and takes them solidly. Good luck on your road, Ayhancan – we are always behind you on this journey....

One last question came to mind..

- So what's your problem with cats? (as I asked this question, the smoke-grey cat with a tough-guy swagger that has lately been haunting Rider Cafe was heading towards the table, and Ayhancan's reaction was this)
- Mate, it's coming again!!!

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Interview: Yiğit TOP