16.10.2026 12:31
Levent Karadöl, 48, who lost his sight as a baby due to meningitis, reached a speed of 244 kilometers per hour in the rain in an area closed to traffic. A Formula 1 enthusiast, Karadöl believes that if given the opportunity, he could improve the speed record for the visually impaired set by American Dan Parker at 339.64 kilometers per hour.
Visually impaired car enthusiast and Formula 1 follower Levent Karadöl believes that, if given the opportunity, he will break the speed record of American Dan Parker at 339.64 kilometers per hour.
Karadöl, who lost his sense of sight at the age of 7 months as a result of meningitis, became interested in cars when he was little by listening to engine sounds. The 48-year-old Karadöl, who works as a psychological counselor, made statements to an AA reporter about his interest in automobiles and motorsports, which over time became an indispensable part of his life.
Karadöl, who said he started listening to engine sounds at the age of 5 with the vacuum cleaner in their home, said, 'I entered Aydınlıkevler School for the Blind. Our school was on the side of Samsun Road. During breaks, I would go to the park to listen to buses and trucks. A large part of my breaks passed in our school's boiler room. Listening to the sounds of the burner, booster pump, and boiler there, and smelling fuel oil gave me incredible pleasure. There I would shed all my tiredness from class.'
Karadöl stated that he became acquainted with motorsports and Formula 1 races thanks to the Start program broadcast when TRT was the only channel, and said, 'On weekends, highlights from the races would be shown. While watching it, I heard it like that, but I didn't think it was such a good thing. One day there was very heavy rainfall in Ankara. We couldn't go to the picnic we had planned as a family. While flipping through the channels at home, I suddenly saw that such incredible, beautiful sounds were coming from the screen. To be honest, that bug bit me within 15-20 minutes. It bit me so much that in 32 years the number of races I have missed is no more than 10. I even arranged my wedding specifically for a date when there was no Formula 1.'
Karadöl, who said he is a strict Ferrari team supporter because he started following F1 in the years when Michael Schumacher was racing, when asked who he likes most among the current drivers in F1, replied, 'I am a Ferrari fan, but if you are asking about the driver whose driving I like, I would definitely put Max Verstappen at number 1 right now. I put Lewis Hamilton at number two. After that comes Charles Leclerc, even though he likes contact with the barriers a bit.'
244 KILOMETERS PER HOUR IN THE RAIN
Karadöl, who shared that he takes great pleasure in traveling by car, commented on his driving experience, limited in number though it may be, in areas closed to traffic: 'It's an incredible feeling. First of all, you are commanding horsepower, the number of which is not very important. Of course, you need to be somewhat at peace with the car and not be too stubborn with the vehicle. While giving gas, you need to calculate 'Did I give too much, too little?' To be honest, I think I react very well to these. Accelerating, pressing the brake, and after stopping, getting out and thanking the car is something I really enjoy.'
Levent Karadöl described the experience in which he previously exceeded a speed of 240 kilometers per hour in an area closed to traffic as follows:
'Being a test editor has always been my dream. I have a dream of getting into a car and writing articles about its balance and material quality, making a program. I even always dreamed of having a program called 'What the car whispers to me.' I shared this dream with someone. They called me and said, 'We are going to have a car tested, we will take you around in that car. You will tell us your impressions.' At Yunuseli Airport in Bursa, they suddenly asked me, 'Would you like to floor this car?' To be honest, they weren't expecting that I would reach such a high speed either. On the first attempt, I drove the car in normal mode. There, it was a speed of 200-210 kilometers per hour. On the second attempt, I put the car in sport mode. It was raining quite heavily. I saw a speed of 244 kilometers in the car without any practice. It's an incredible feeling. Actually, not going, but stopping is a much more incredible feeling. When you press the brake, you feel at how great a speed you were going. When the car reacted too much to the first brake, I released the brake and pressed again. They said, 'Where did you think of that from, how did you come up with it?' So it means that what I have read, imagined, and thought until today has imprinted such an experience in my subconscious.'
HIS GOAL IS THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED SPEED RECORD
Stating that if given the opportunity he believes he can improve the visually impaired speed record that American Dan Parker broke on March 31, 2022, at 339.64 kilometers per hour, Karadöl said, 'There was a record that Metin Şentürk broke at Urfa Airport, if I'm not mistaken, at a speed of 305 kilometers. They even allocated the airport to Metin Şentürk for this. He worked with Volkan Işık for 10 days, about two hours a day. Volkan Işık came from behind and guided him over the intercom. After Metin Şentürk broke it, the record was improved. Breaking the visually impaired speed record is one of my greatest dreams. With a solid car and a good airport, I want to break this record and show the whole world what visually impaired people in Turkey can achieve, and make our National Anthem be sung. I am sure I can do it because I trust my technical knowledge very much. Of course, not as much as an engineer, but I have technical knowledge about what I can contribute to a car's aero, mechanics, and performance. If such a record attempt is made, I will also need to lose some weight. For that, I am ready to do everything.'
HE WENT ONTO THE TRACK WITH FELIPE MASSA
Karadöl, who went onto the track at Istanbul Park with Brazilian former driver Felipe Massa, who won the F1 Turkish Grand Prix 3 times in a row in 2006, 2007, and 2008, said the following about that day:
'I am a Felipe Massa fan. In fact, my email address and the ID of a smart platform I use start with 'massa06'. They knew about my admiration for Massa. When they invited me, I thought we would just shake hands. When I went to the track, I learned that I would ride around with Massa, but I still didn't know that we would ride in the car you have seen. Suddenly I saw that they sat me inside that monster. For one thing, Istanbul Park is one of the world's few modern, beautiful tracks. Taking Turn 8 flying with such a skilled driver, entering such a corner with one of the best drivers in the world and feeling your blood being drawn toward your brain is an incredible feeling. Now when I watch something in Istanbul, it will seem much more meaningful to me. Massa is truly a very warm person. After getting out of the car, we hugged and took a photo. It was an incredible memory for me.'