Only a few months ago, James Hillier, a professional Motorcycle racer, set up a record run for production bikes when he drove 206 mph on a public road at the Isle of Man TT. The machine he managed was the Kawasaki H2R, the latest and the worst bike on the market with a turbocharged engine and with the power of 300+ hp. Fantastically brave Hillier did the unthinkable and drove the bike on bumpy roads to such an extreme speed. However, Turkey gave birth to a rider who laughs at the face of fear – Kenan Sofuoglu, five-time winner of World Superbike series.
He, also, took the world’s most powerful bike to set up a record on public roads. The only difference is that he was not aiming to hit 207 mph. He was aiming at 250 mph – 400 km/h mark. To enable him to make an attempt at such a fantastic endeavor, he was given permission to make a pass and celebrate the occasion of opening an enormous bridge in Gulf of Izmit – Osman Gazi Bridge.
After the record attempt, Sofuoglu told Motorsport.com: “After four months of hard work, I have managed to reach 400kph. When I contacted Kawasaki in 2015, they told me that this bike has the top speed of 380kph.”
The most interesting part was that he had to accelerate to 250 mph in less than 30 seconds, due to an uncertainty of what could happen with tires if they run at high speeds a bit longer. Although they are built by Pirelli, they are not indestructible.
Kenan managed to do what he had trained for months. He succeeded in hitting the 400 km/h mark only after 26 seconds of taking off and this way he secured Kawasaki a spot in the hall of fame.
“We only reach 300kph during the championship, so 400kph was a bit of a dream. But thankfully we have managed to fulfill our dreams.” Sofuoglu added.
