Deniz Öncü

Birth Place:

Alanya, Turkey

Date of Birth:

26 July 2003 (Age 20)

Career Highlights:

Asia Talent Cup Champion 2017

Current Race Number:

Social Media:

Introduction

Deniz’s career has largely followed the same path as his twin brother Can. Both entered the Asia Talent Cup series in 2016 aged 13. Deniz finished 10th in his debut season and then clinched the championship the following year. He and Can then graduated to the Red Bull Rookies Cup and after settling into the class in 2017, the twins went on to rule the class in 2018, with Can taking top spot and Deniz finishing as runner up.

That year they also competed in the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship racing for the Ajo Motorsport team, with Deniz finishing 14th overall in the standings.

Neck and neck

Due to minimum age restrictions enforced in Moto3 (16 years+), Deniz had to bide his time to get a ride in the class. In fact, once he turned 16 it was only due to injury to Can (who was having a miserable debut season) that Deniz was offered three wildcard rides filling in for his brother, again riding in Ajo Motorsport colours.

It is worth noting at this point that despite being the same age, Can secured a full-time ride that year before turning 16 due to special dispensation given to him as reward for winning the Red Bull Rookies Cup.

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Aiming high

In 2020 the brother’s career paths finally went separate ways. Looking to rebuild his confidence, Can made the switch to World Supersport and Deniz was hired by Red Bull KTM Tech3 for his first full season in the ultra-competitive Moto3 category, coming 17th overall in his rookie season. With a year under his belt and the continuity of staying with the same team, Deniz made very significant progress in the 2021 season - he scored his first podium at Catalunya with a third position finish, clinched his first pole position in Austria as well as taking second place at the same venue and went on to achieve another second place in Aragon.

Times of trouble

Unfortunately, his season came to an abrupt end at The Circuit of the Americas, Texas. Deniz became embroiled in a frantic battle as part of the leading pack and while jostling for track position on the long back straight he was adjudged to have veered back onto the racing line too soon after overtaking Andre Migno, clipping the Italian’s front wheel with his rear wheel at approximately 140mph…

This resulted in both Migno and Pedro Acosta (who was the rider behind Migno) being launched violently into the air in what was a truly horrific and distressing crash to witness. Deniz was handed a two-race ban for causing the accident which effectively ended his season with only two races remaining.

While he was largely responsible for the incident, some argued that his treatment at the hands of Race Direction was too severe given that throughout the season there had been numerous instances of riders swerving across the track much more violently and yet their indiscretions had gone unpunished.

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Little by little

Now in his third full season in the class, and coupled with the continuity of staying with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad, there were big expectations of the No.53. And he certainly established himself as one of the front runners in Moto3, taking a handful of pole positions and earning the distinction of being the only rider in the category to finish all 20 races on the calendar (finishing in point-scoring positions in 19 of those).

Alas, that long-awaited and elusive fist GP victory still wasn't forthcoming. By this point. Deniz had visibly grown in physical stature and was now one of biggest competitors in Moto3. A notable disadvantage on such small bikes with low power outputs; he would routinely lose positions on long straights, and then over-ride and sometimes make mistakes trying to fight back in the corners.

He came agonisingly close to winning on at least two occasions - Jerez and Valencia - leading into the final corner on the final lap, only to miss out across the finish line in both instances! A combination of a size disadvantage, bad luck and perhaps that last bit of race-craft was lacking. He ultimately went on to finish fifth in the standings.

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On the up

The 2023 campaign was the No.53's break-out year; he was snapped up by Red Bull KTM Ajo, widely accepted as the reference team in Moto3. This was perhaps the missing piece of the puzzle for Deniz; he rode with a new assuredness and maturity compared to previous seasons - he was still very combative and aggressive in his general approach, but was less rash and more calculated. When it mattered, he became the hunter rather than the hunted.

And so, he finally achieved that long-awaited victory he'd come so close to in previous seasons, pipping ex-Tech 3 team-mate Ayumu Sasaki on the final corner of the final lap to take a stunning win at Sachsenring, Germany. With the 'win' monkey now off his back, he went on to claim the top spot two more times, in Austria and Australia.

And but for some dubious penalties handed out by Race Direction on at least two occasions, he may well have finished higher than fourth in the final standings...

Be that as it may, the Ajo squad saw enough in the 20-year old to reward him with a promotion to compete in their Moto2 team for 2024. That's a big vote of confidence, and makes Deniz only the second Turkish rider in history to achieve such a feat, with mentor Kenan Sofuoğlu being the only rider to ever represent Türkiye in the middle-weight class, back in 2011.

Dedicated to Turkish motorcycle racers competing on the world stage and more!

Deniz Öncü

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