Bahattin Sofuoglu has left the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team ahead of the final two rounds of the 2024 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign. Sofuoglu joined the team in 2022 for a WorldSSP Challenge campaign before re-signing for 2023 with a full season, where he claimed one win. This year has been trickier for the Turkish rider with no visits to the podium, and now he and the team have split after three seasons. Dutchman Bo Bendsneyder will replace him for the final two rounds of the season.
SOFUOGLU’S TIME WITH MV AGUSTA: one win, four podiums and a WorldSSP Challenge title
The WorldSSP300 race winner first joined the team in 2022 and finished 14th in the standings as he brought home the WorldSSP Challenge crown. He remained with the team for 2023, claiming sixth in the standings, as well as taking a first WorldSSP win in Race 2 in Barcelona. In total in that season, Sofuoglu claimed four rostrums as he racked up 168 points. Sofuoglu hasn’t been able to match those results in 2024, with the #54 sitting 13th in the Championship standings with a best result of fifth in Race 2 at Assen. For the rest of the season, Sofuoglu will not race with MV Agusta after three years with the team.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Bendsneyder joins WorldSSP
Bendsneyder will make his WorldSSP debut with the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team at Estoril and also race at Jerez. The Dutchman has been a regular Moto2™ racer since 2018 and claimed his first podium in 2023 at the Grand Prix of the Americas when he finished third. Prior to that, he had two seasons in Moto3™ and stood on the rostrum twice: at Silverstone and Sepang, when he finished both. The Dutchman, who runs the #64 in Moto2™ but will have to change it in WorldSSP as Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) uses it, completed two races in the European Junior Cup in 2023 as a wildcard, winning at Assen and the Nurburgring. The 25-year-old will get two cracks at WorldSSP this season on the MV Agusta F3 800 RR machine, alongside Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) at Estoril and Jerez, the final two rounds of the 2024 season.
BENDSNEYDER SAYS: “I’m very happy to begin this new adventure with MV Agusta…”
Discussing his move into WorldSSP for the end of the season, Bendsneyder said: “I am very happy to begin this new adventure with MV Agusta Reparto Corse. I thank Andrea for the trust and for giving me the opportunity to race in these two races. I am ready and very motivated, I can’t wait to start working with the team, to give my best already at Estoril and Jerez.”
FROM THE TEAM: “The next two races will be a sort of dress rehearsal… I thank Bahattin for his work done”
Andrea Quadranti, Team Principal, took a longer-term approach to Bendsneyder coming in for two rounds, saying: “I welcome Bo to the MV Agusta RC team. I am very happy to have him in our team for next year. The next two races will be a sort of dress rehearsal in view of the winter preparation. I thank Bahattin for the work he’s done in these three years with us. We have shared so many exciting moments and I wish him all the best for his future.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com