A legend of the FIM Supersport World Championship will return to action on Friday as five-time Champion Kenan Sofuoglu joins Kawasaki Puccetti for a one-off appearance at Jerez.

On Friday 24 September, Kenan Sofuoglu will climb aboard the Puccetti Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R during the two free practice sessions of the ninth Supersport World Championship round to mark the dawn of a new era in WorldSSP competition. Celebrating the change between Sofuoglu’s time - as the most successful Supersport 600 rider to date - and 2022’s new recently announced regulations which brings further models to the list of homologated bikes for the Championship going forward.

The 37-year-old who claimed a record five titles during his career, in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016, also competed in WorldSBK in 2008 and Moto2 between 2010 and 2011. His last appearance, in 2018, saw him complete two races for Puccetti Racing, with two of his five Championships coming as part of the team he will ride for on Friday. With 43 wins, 85 podiums and 34 pole positions in his career, Sofuoglu will return to action, although without adding to these numbers, as he participates solely in Friday’s free practice sessions at the Motul Spanish Round.

“We are very pleased and emotional at the thought of seeing Kenan back on track after three years with one of our bikes, even if it’s only for a day,"Manuel Puccetti, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team Principal said.

“I believe that Sofuoglu is the ideal ambassador to mark the change that the Supersport category will undergo next year, a class in which he has won so much and become the very symbol of this category.”