"Ladies and gentlemen, we got it!" the commentator shouted as Fatih, who had received his driver’s license from the Minister of Youth and Sports, turned to a camera on the grandstand opposite the pit lane and raised a piece of card in his hand to show that he had finally gotten it.
The feed immediately had a small picture-in-picture showing what was happening in the studio where the commentators were watching everything, showing them standing while clapping excitedly as if it were their own child who had passed the exam.
And that expression might not have been too far off, as many of the Turkish people treated him as such in their minds. As a country that loves sports and genuinely takes pride in their sportspeople representing them and the nation on the global stage, and in a sport where they had been void, Fatih was finally going to make his entrance.
The commentators, who finally returned to their positions, immediately resumed their job. Mehmet Taşkın, the lead commentator, said, "Now that is one box checked among the few remaining before we have our own pilot in the sport. But for now, let’s have a look around the track, and to do that for us, we are bringing out the heaviest artillery in the Turkish motorsport arsenal to warm up the tarmac.
He is a national icon, a member of parliament, and a man who has rewritten the history books of two-wheel racing, with an unprecedented five World Supersport Championship titles to his name. Please welcome the ultimate king of speeds, the one and only KENAN SOFUOĞLU!"
In tandem with the commentator, the crane cam that had been on the move from Fatih’s garage, where Red Bull engineers were already working on his car, finally arrived at the next garage just in time to show Kenan closing his visor as he revved the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP wrapped in a red-and-white Red Bull livery. He slowly left the garage, entering the fast lane as the crane cam followed him all the way to the pit exit before the camera changed to the one at the exit of turn one, as the pit exit bypassed it.
As Kenan went around the track for a warm-up lap before going for a full push lap, infographics finally appeared on the screen, showing the track map with a red moving dot matched in real-time to Kenan’s location.
(track image here)
When he completed the warm-up and familiarization lap, he finally went for a full push as the helicopter started following him around the track, staying with him for the entire lap duration and creating quite beautiful imagery all the way to the end of the lap. The director then shifted to the on-track angles for his second lap, showing how deep he was leaning in some corners.
The most visually striking one was Turn 8, as he leaned into the corner and didn’t straighten the motorcycle until he had gone through all four apexes of the turn, one of the most technical corners in F1, as he accelerated rapidly on the following short straights before having to brake heavily.
The spectacle had people glued to their screens as they watched the slow-motion replay of him hitting the apex while leaning at a very steep angle.
The current member of parliament, Kenan, continued on his hot laps until he finished ten, and only then did he finally return to the pit. As he passed the Red Bull pit lane, the mechanics working on Fatih’s car stopped what they were doing and clapped for him, welcoming him back, before they resumed their work when he disappeared from their view and entered his garage.
"It was a beautiful show of talent from Kenan Sofuoğlu, and we thank him very much for it. But Formula 1 is a game of four wheels, and Fatih needs to understand how to manage the intense grip and dangerous curb geometry of this 5.3-kilometer circuit.
To break it down for us on what the track’s absolute limit is, we have brought in a driver who knows the anatomy of a racing line better than anyone in the country, with the only possible challenger being Fatih. He is a master of car control under duress and a legendary five-time Turkish Rally Champion. Representing the Red Bull family on four wheels, here is YAĞIZ AVCI.
And to accompany him and break it down in more detail, we have another talented driver, a three-time Turkish Rally Champion and a European Rally Cup winner who has spent his entire life studying vehicle dynamics and what the limits of the tires are. Joining us in the studio to give us a more detailed breakdown and an avenue to answer our and viewers’ questions, MURAT BOSTANCI."
The crane camera repeated the same motion as it left Kenan’s garage, arriving at another garage showing a rally car just about to leave for the track, and followed it all the way to the pit exit as the on-track cameras picked up the slack and started following him around the track as he went through his warmup lap.
At the same time, Murat, who had joined the commentators in the studio, was finally given the stage to break it down for the viewers.
"Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. If we are to get to the point immediately, this track being the one he is being tested on is going to be a very challenging situation for him, as it is one of the few F1 tracks that are anti-clockwise. With the driver’s body adapting and strengthening based on what they do most, which is driving on clockwise tracks, their necks are stronger on the right side.
In return, they suffer more on anti-clockwise tracks, and for a young 17-year-old, this is going to be his first challenge of the day. Because if he fails, it is going to be very difficult, if not outright dangerous, for him to drive at the required speeds to gain approval from the FIA witness, but that is something he has probably prepared for."
"And you would be correct. Let’s go and see his training regimen in preparation for this," Mehmet said in response before the feed moved to showing two feeds side-by-side: one of the car on the track in the middle of warming up, and another of Fatih in the gym training, as a montage of his training changed from one clip to another.
The event had begun in earnest, and with each passing moment, the number of viewers was increasing.
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