4-time World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu was back on Turkey’s Izmit Bay Bridge on Tuesday as he looked to move closer to establishing a new land speed record on a motorcycle.

Sofuoglu – who rides a Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R in World Supersport and is on target for a fifth world crown this year – hopes to achieve the 400 kilometre an hour (248.5 mph) record on Thursday, the day of the bridge’s opening, with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in attendance.

During the latest tests on Tuesday, strong winds prevented Sofuoglu from hitting speeds higher than 350 km/h.

“I just need to sort out everything with the engine, tyres and fuel,” he explains. “Almost everything is ready. We have just a few days to go. I have finished all of my personal preparations. It will depend on the wind speed, but I expect to reach 400 kilometre per hour. I will be spending the next three days at the bridge to see what the wind is like at different points of the day. Hopefully we will be able to have all of the right conditions when it matters on Thursday.”

Riding on the newly-constructed bridge in the Gulf of Izmit, which is approximately 50km outside of Istanbul, 31-year-old Sofuoglu (using a special leather suit) is piloting a Kawasaki Ninja H2R, complete with winglets.

In previous tests, the 36-time WorldSSP race winner has already achieved a top speed of 396 km/h and he stresses that hitting 400 km/h will need to be done in less than 30 seconds in order to lower the risk of a tyre blowout.