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== Early years of SMK ==

== Her first years ==

[[Image:LeylaSRW1.JPG|thumb|Leyla Hasso, entering multiplayer competition on Super Mario Kart (2006)]]

Leyla Hasso was born in May 1999 as the first daughter of Ayla Hasso (née Cetin) and Karim Hasso. When she was 1 day old, her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] was asked to tell her all about his SMK World Records at the time, and that one day when she grew older he could teach her how to play. At the time this seemed far fetched but as they say, no one knows what the future may bring. She initially didn't play any games except for a few applications on the PC (e.g. Baby Type) with her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]]. The PC usage included once assisting Sami with an SMK Time Trial site update in November 1999 when she was just five months old. Suffice to say she wasn't able to type too well at the time but she was an excellent assistant for her age.

 

Leyla took a keen interest in books and drawing from a young age plus watching cartoons including classics from the 80s / early 90s despite being born much later than this time. Sami, preferring the programmes on from his childhood encouraged her to watch some of the things that he did many years before and perhaps this spurred on the interest in more of the retro classic gaming as opposed to HD / modern Era gaming when she grew up. She thoroughly enjoyed these times and it wasn't long before the two would venture further into another long lasting hobby.

 

 

== Her early years in games and Introduction to Super Mario Kart ==

 

When Leyla was 1 year and 10 months old Sami attempted to give her a SNES pad to try his favourite Super Mario Kart a try. It wasn't a great success as she only completed a lap of Mario Circuit 1 in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. After she was around 2 - 3 Leyla begun to play a little on some of the old handheld consoles including the original Nintendo Gameboy. and took an interest in games after a few years due to her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] and his SMK activity. She then played with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance on some basic platform games and a few Disney titles. This begun developing her hand eye coordination skills on platform games, which become useful when she would try some of the more difficult ones later on. When Leyla was 3 he gave her a quick go again on Super Mario Kart SNES and she was able to drive a little better this time but only on a few tracks. They ceased to play this further while Sami left for University, but Leyla vaguely remembered this interesting game for later.

Leyla was born in 1999 and took an interest in games after a few years due to her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] and his SMK activity. At first she played with the GBA on some basic games, then officially joined the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/ Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Records Site] in Summer of 2004 at age 5. Her initial competitor on Time Trials was Tanja Huber of Germany who turned 6 and presented a good challenge as they both started out on the site. Leyla overtook her on Time Trials and passed a few more karters till she stopped playing.

After Leyla turned 5, Sami was visiting back one summer from University. Leyla then asked if Sami remembered that game they once played "Super Mario Cartoon" a long time ago. Sami at first didn't realise what she meant, but then clocked on that it was infact Super Mario Kart and corrected her on this. Keen to give her a try they played together for a little while and she was able to drive cleaner with Toad this time. During that summer, Sami decided to get her her own SNES with Super Mario Kart and Super Mario All Stars. Although she didn't play it often due to the complexity of the setup on the old televisions, she enjoyed having her own copy and probably played a bit more of the platformers than SMK at the time. Shortly after putting together a full timeset on Super Mario Kart. she then officially joined the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/ Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Records Site] in Summer of 2004 while still 5 years old. Her initial competitor on Time Trials was Tanja Huber of Germany who turned 6 and presented a good challenge as they both started out on the site. Leyla overtook her on Time Trials and passed a few more karters till she stopped playing for a while.

== Leyla Hasso vs Louise Bedford on SMK Match Race ==

== Leyla Hasso vs Louise Bedford on SMK Match Race ==

On the 29th April 2006 Leyla attended a UK Meet held by [[Sami Cetin]]. A mini beginners SMK Tournament was set up and Leyla entered using Toad. Her big moment came when she raced UK rival Louise Bedford. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwH_NrUHOI Race on Mario Circuit 2] was intense. Leyla started off poorly but made an amazing comeback towards the end, firing a red shell to destroy a green shell and coupled with great cornering managed to defeat Louise on the final lap. She then stopped playing SMK for the remainder of 2006.

On the 29th April 2006 Leyla attended a UK Meet held by [[Sami Cetin]]. A mini beginners SMK Tournament was set up and Leyla entered using Toad. Her big moment came when she raced UK rival Louise Bedford. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwH_NrUHOI Race on Mario Circuit 2] was intense.

 

Leyla started off poorly with a missed zoom start and then struggled to keep the pace going as she continuously went off the road and clipped pipes on the opening laps. Louise drove safe and took the lead; also throwing a red shell back in the open that hit Leyla pushing her further behind. Leyla continued to drive on lap 3 picking up the pace a bit and gaining a red shell. A green shell was approaching at the start of lap 4 and she fired the red shell which arc'ed into its path and killed it off. Leyla then reached top speed at the end of lap 4 and was on pursuit. With some fantastic cornering she picked up a star but didn't use it yet. Louise had an accident where the enemies were underneath the flyover jump and Leyla overtook. She activated the star before the jump and managed to defeat Louise on this final lap. She then stopped playing SMK for the remainder of 2006.

== Comeback to SMK in 2007 with Bowser ==

== Comeback to SMK in 2007 with Bowser ==

During 2007 Leyla returned to SMK with Bowser on several tracks to make some faster times, she became the fastest female SMK player in London and 2nd fastest in the UK. She switched to Toad on a few tracks, then one day after several attempts she managed to drive a Women's British record on the fastlap of Choco Island 2 with Toad, beating the time of Sue Cladingboel by a few hundredths. One of her proudest achievements was reaching 1'03" on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial, close to the record of her father Karim. Leyla also played a lot of the Grand Prix mode also and developed good skills there, mainly just 150cc Mushroom Cup.

During 2007 Leyla returned to SMK trying out Bowser on certain tracks (mainly Mushroom Cup) to make some faster times, she became the fastest female SMK player in London and 2nd fastest in the UK. She switched to Toad on a few tracks, then one day after several attempts she managed to drive a Women's British record on the fastlap of Choco Island 2 with Toad, beating the time of Sue Cladingboel by a few hundredths. One of her proudest achievements was reaching 1'03" on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial, close to the record of her father Karim. Leyla also played a lot of the Grand Prix mode also and developed good skills there, mainly just 150cc Mushroom Cup.