Mission accomplished: Sofuoglu hits 400km/h

Turkey's reigning world supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu has cracked out a phenomenal 400km/h pass on a supercharged Kawasaki H2R at the opening of a new bridge across the Gulf of Izmit, 50km from Istanbul.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE

“I reached 400km/h, the maximum speed that this motorcycle could have, after four long months of training,” said Sofuoglu. “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 300km/h, so 400km/h is a really high speed. It was a dream to reach this speed and thank god I made it."

Sofuoglu had a special leather suit made for the attempt, and to lower the risk of a tyre blowout, the speed was to be reached in less than 30 seconds. The Turk visited the bridge numerous times and at different times of day to check the conditions, the record was then broken just after dawn, two days before the official opening ceremony for the bridge.

After the summer break, Sofuoglu will be back in his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing colours at Lausitzring in Germany from September 16-18.