April 06, 2002
After his resignation from the MaMa Racing Team, Erdem Coban finally had some words to say to the press:

"The reason I quit has got nothing to do with the Team Manager, has got nothing to do with the people within the team or with the slightly underpowered Honda. People who are saying such things, are talking a lot of trash."

The real reason will probably never be known. Early rumours suggested that it had something to do with the departure of his team-mate Leon Verheggen. "The reason I left is personal, and I don't want to talk about it. If other people involved in this matter want to talk about it, they can, but this situation is closed for me. It's time to look forward."

It seems both drivers are looking for places in the GPVWC. However Coban denied this: "No, at least I am not looking for a drive. Not seriously anyway. But I am looking around. I want to drive next year, that's for sure. This year I just want to cruise. Maybe test a litte bit. Maybe drive one or two races. I don't know. People might think I am hard guy, but that is not the case. I am very honest. If I can't drive I will let the team know in advance. You can ask Luc."

It is very strange why Coban wants to "degrade" him self from a respected GPVWC driver to a testdriver. Nobody really understands why a driver wants to do this. But Coban is clear: "I don't know. Maybe I am not ready this year for the whole challenge. I don't feel I have disappointed MaMa Racing. I have done my best for them and I hope that they will do a great job in this league."

How about F3000 than? "No, that is not really my goal. Maybe I will participate in a race, who knows. But my goal is Formula 1. I want to talk with Team Managers about the possibility of me being a test-driver. If any Team Manager is interested, this includes also my old teamboss, they can contact me at smoothcriminal@gmx.net."