A Cracking Season Awaits Us
I always leave things to the last minute – that's just how I am, what can I do? I know it's a bad habit, but while the sun is still shining over my part of the world, my hand simply won't go to the keyboard. Where does it go instead? To my guitars, for instance, or the PS4 controller, or the handlebars of my beloved motorcycle. But never to the keyboard. I try my best (that's rather ironic) but there's nothing I can do.
When your editor-in-chief is someone like Atıl Atılgan, you don't really have much room for slacking... This friend of at least 25 years, when it comes to work, doesn't care about friendship, 25 years or any of that – he suddenly has the strength of ten tigers. When he told me very politely on the phone today that he wanted the article tonight, I had no trouble finding the motivation to sit down at my desk.
After earning my living by writing for 17 years of my life, and then discovering that I could actually talk, writing had started to feel so difficult. Those who know will remember that I once had a column called Top Speed in a magazine, and I loved scribbling things there. But time and circumstances pushed me down a different road. My role in this team is to write for you about the races of Turkish crews competing abroad, to share their news and to pass on what I can learn of what I've seen behind the scenes.
The team is solid... How could it not be? For a start, we have Atıl Atılgan at the helm, then experts in their own fields – Ahmet Sait Özen, Mehmet Erel, Erkan Ertuğrul – and, deliberately saved for last, my friend of 34 years, "holli" Mert Yılmaz. I hope this team will bring a brand-new flavour to motorsport journalism with its knowledge, experience and strong pens.
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The end of 2015 saw the TOSFED presidential election. When Serkan Yazıcı, one of Turkey's boldest and most steady-handed drivers, won the race for the presidency, I thought fresh blood had arrived in the sport. I was wrong. Not only had new and fresh blood arrived in the sport, but also the breath that would get that ailing patient back on its feet and, before long, running. I am among those who believe that the person running the sport and their team must have held a racing steering wheel. They must have put on the race suit, pulled on the helmet and seen part of their life through the visor. That empathy with the competitors, and having seen the sport's shortcomings and mistakes from the very heart of it all, makes their view of the sport even more positive.
Actually, as I was writing these lines I had another idea in mind. I was going to tell you the story of Kenan Sofuoğlu's build-up to the 2016 season. Alongside our pride and joy Kenan, a four-time World Champion, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who will be chasing the European Superstock 1000 Championship this year, will also be sweating for the title. I'll share their story with you in my next piece. As I write these lines, Kenan and Toprak are most likely dozing on the plane heading to Australia.
Let me wrap up without dragging this out. As someone diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, I think I've done well to get this far. Long story short, whenever my hand makes it to the keyboard – which is usually at night – I'll be scribbling something in my column here. In the coming days, an interview I did with the boss of a team that has represented our country successfully abroad in recent years will go live. What more could you want? I swear I've surpassed myself. I think I've earned a good rest now.
Finally, if there's anyone whose views and thoughts you'd like to hear, let me know so I can interview them. I have a couple of names in mind...
Take care, everyone. A cracking season awaits us…
Yiğit TOP
