Stunt rider Jonny Davies smashes high-speed motorcycle skating world record at Elvington Airfield

Thousands of motorsport enthusiasts lined up at Elvington Airfield, in York, on Sunday, August 18 to watch British stunt riding sensation Jonny Davies set a new Guinness World Record for the ‘Fastest speed being dragged behind a motorcycle.’

The two-time British stunt riding champion and now three-time world record holder, set a new fastest speed of 159.522mph whilst skating behind a supercharged Kawasaki H2 SX sports tourer, wearing a pair of specially designed titanium shoes.

Jumping off the back of the bike, before switching to a secondary thumb throttle mounted on a new grab rail, the record takes over from the previous benchmark of 156.3mph, set by Liverpool stunt riding legend Gary Rothwell aboard a Suzuki Hayabusa back in 1999.

“I think I hit 110mph before climbing off the back and I wasn’t even perfectly straight to be honest. As soon as I lined up, I just hit full throttle, and I just did not let off,” Davies told MCN moments after the record-breaking run.

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Taking place during a top speed car event called Ultimate Supercar, the record fell during Jonny’s second official attempt of the day. During his first outing he hit 154.677mph, having used an earlier 130.697mph practice ride to get his eye in.

“It was just a blurry, bumpy ride,” Davies continued (also known as JD Stunts). “My left foot began getting airborne because the boots are obviously turned up at the toes and the air got under it and it actually came off the floor for a little bit.

“It was pretty chaotic, but the bike was just super stable. The Ninja H2 SX was an absolute machine, perfect for the job. I’m just overwhelmed with the whole situation. It’s been some build-up, and finally to have broken the record, it feels pretty good.”

The £22,649 Ninja H2 SX was supplied by Kawasaki UK, following a meeting at last year’s Motorcycle Live show at Birmingham’s NEC.

“Jonny’s been an absolute dream,” Head of Kawasaki UK’s Marketing and Racing Departments, Ross Burridge told MCN on the day. “We’ve worked with lots of different people doing different things in the past, but I was just saying I’ve never really come across someone who’s been so grateful for the support that he’s getting, not just from us, but from the people around him.

“We’ll have the bike at Motorcycle Live for sure,” he continued. “We’ll have it there proudly on display just showing people what it’s capable of. The average punter is not going to go and buy that bike and take it down a runway hanging off the back of it, but when they know what it’s capable of speed-wise, stability-wise it’s great that you can translate that from what people want out of the bike in the in their day-to-day riding.”

The day’s top speed runs were facilitated by drag racing and straight-line event specialists, Straightliners. In the build-up to the record, Jonny used a number of their Top Speed Monday events to practice.

“It’s fantastic, really, because Jonny has that talent,” Straightliners Director, Trevor Duckworth said. “We’ve done lots of records with all the stunt riders over the years and, and Jonny’s like one of the best, to be quite honest with you.

“From day one, Jonny has been very, very professional. Creeping up on the speed. He’s done it as we like to see it.”

To see more of Jonny’s stunt riding efforts, visit jdstunts.com today.