Source: Supplied.

World Supersport Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu rode a Kawasaki Ninja H2R to a speed of 400km/h at the opening of a new bridge across the Gulf of Izmit, 50km away from Istanbul in Turkey.

The 5:00am record attempt to beat high winds on a bike with winglets and wearing a special leather suit, he powered to top speed in under 30 seconds to avoid the increased risk of a tyre blowout.

“I reached 400km/h, the maximum speed that this motorcycle could have, after a 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 to race for 2016 with Kawasaki, I liked and wanted so much this special edition bike. Kawasaki said its maximum speed was 380km/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 390km/h in my last trials and today I beat this and reached 400km/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 5:00am.”

Sofuoglu heads back to the WorldSSP championship at Lausitzring in Germany in September, where top speed will be less than 300km/h. The 10-week comedown should be enough time for him to get his head back in to gear as he looks to secure his fifth world championship title.