In an attempt to break the previous land speed records on a production motorcycle, the Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu geared up with his mean machine, the Kawasaki Ninja H2R. Kenan planned for the brave attempt to be performed at the opening of a new bridge across the Gulf of Izmit, 50km away from Istanbul. Being the most successful World Supersport rider ever, he has four WSSP titles to his name, while also topping this years points table. Kenan Sofuoglu is currently riding for the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team.
The Landspeed Record run took place on the bridge at 5:00 AM just to make sure the temperature was well under control, considering the amount of heat produced in the rear tyres. The record run was planned to be done under a 30 second time limit, in order to avoid a rear tyre blow. The rider visited the bridge for a number of times at different times of the day, in order to prepare for the death defying task. Kenan was protected by a specially made leather suit designed by REV'IT. In 26 seconds from the start of the record attempt, Kenan successfully reached the 400 kmph mark.
Kenan exclaimed these words after completing his record run:
By: Aravind Rb
The Landspeed Record run took place on the bridge at 5:00 AM just to make sure the temperature was well under control, considering the amount of heat produced in the rear tyres. The record run was planned to be done under a 30 second time limit, in order to avoid a rear tyre blow. The rider visited the bridge for a number of times at different times of the day, in order to prepare for the death defying task. Kenan was protected by a specially made leather suit designed by REV'IT. In 26 seconds from the start of the record attempt, Kenan successfully reached the 400 kmph mark.
Kenan exclaimed these words after completing his record run:I reached 400 km/h, the maximum speed that this motorcycle could have, after a 4 long months of training. I do not remember where I got this idea of the record from first, but when I signed the agreement on 2016 with Kawasaki, I liked and wanted so much this special edition bike. When I asked for the motorcycle, Kawasaki said its maximum speed was 380 km/h and that their dream was to reach 400km/h. The first time I rode it, I felt its huge power and speed, and I made small changes to the motorcycle - keeping its original settings - and did not modify it. I reached 390 km/h in my last trials and today I beat this and reached 400 km/h. I was planning to do this speed attempt for the opening but we had to catch the best weather conditions and so we did it at 5:00 am. The top speed we get to in the world championship races is about 300 km/h, so 400 km/h is a really high speed. It was a dream to reach this speed and thank god I made it. I currently hold the top place in the World Championship, and my next dream is taking the World Champion title the fifth time.
By: Aravind Rb
