15-year-old Turkish rider wins Moto3 race in Spain

By Senhan Bolelli

MADRID (AA) - A teenage Turkish rider won the Moto3 race in Valencia, Spain on Sunday to become the youngest Grand Prix winner in motorcycling.

Making his debut at the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix, Can Oncu, 15, snagged the historic victory by taking advantage of crashes in front of him on a wet track at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

The Turkish teen won by a margin of more than four seconds after race leader Tony Arbolino crashed out.

British rider Scott Redding -- 15 years and 170 days old when he won his first Moto3 race in 2008 -- held the previous record, but Oncu, at 15 years and 119 days old, edged out the old record.

Oncu also became the first rider to win in his Grand Prix debut since Japan's Noboru Ueda in 1991.

With the record for youngest-ever rider in Moto3 already in hand, Oncu's Grand Prix victory set off celebrations.

Spanish sports dailies Marca and El Mundo Deportivo trumpeted the news with headlines such as "Future star is Turkish,” "Amazing victory from Turkish teen,” and “Historic day for motorcycling.”