TWO Turkish World Superbike stars went toe-to-tow this month, as they raced across the world’s longest suspension bridge, the Canakkale 1915 in Turkey.
Just like Sofuoglu’s last ‘competitive’ visit to the bridge, the five-time World Supersport champion was on two-wheels, riding the track-only Kawasaki H2R for the race, while his young protégé Razgatlioglu was taking to four-wheels and the 1,000hp Ferrari SF90.
The ‘race’ (more promotional activity – but aren’t all races?!) took place on a dead-straight 2,000 metre section of the 4,600 metre suspension bridge. And while that does make it sound like a fairly simple task, as you’ll see from the video below, taming the track-only Kawasaki H2R and all of its 310bhp proved to be the biggest challenge.
After what looks like a fairly steady start from Sofuoglu on the Kawasaki, the Turkish ace cranks the throttle and is seen to be working fairly hard to keep the front down and the bike under control. After a few initial bucks and weaves, the chassis and engine finally hook up, flinging Sofuoglu passed the £500,000, 1,000hp machine.
The stunt marks Sofuoglu’s second visit to one of Turkey’s biggest landmarks after the ex-WorldSBK ace took a Kawasaki H2R to a top speed of nearly 250mpg on the same stretch of the bridge back in 2016. After the race, Sofuoglu admitted that the entire stunt was dreamt up, planned, and carried out in under 24-hours.
Sofuoglu is more than just a bike racer in Turkey, he’s one of the country's most famous sporting stars. After racing, he turned to politics, and in 2018 was elected as a parliamentarian for the Sakarya Province.
