Kawasaki took its Team 38 racing team, and the modded Ninja H2 to a place where the automobile is king and speed is the one true god. A piece of land bordered by mountains, and crusted in fine white granules of salt - The Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway.

The team has set a new world record for being the fastest Ninja H2 with the official figure of 209 mph. The record run was a part of the Speed Week from August 11th to the 18th, 2018, the same time where speed junkies from all over the world will land on this 10 mile stretch in the pursuit of holding the title for the fastest man and machine.

A couple of years ago, Team 38, an unincorporated group comprised of employees and moto enthusiasts, ventured from Japan to Bonneville Speed Week with the goal of reaching the top speed of the Ninja H2R. It clocked a top speed of 220 mph and gave the team a huge learning curve for their next run.

This year, the same team with senior rider Shigeru Yamashita rode on the "specially prepared" Ninja H2 instead of the H2R to take a dig at a new world speed record in the P-PB 1000 class. A class where production models with supercharged motors less that 1000cc participate with very strict limitations on the tweaks that can be done.

The inline-4 998cc mill was kept the same that will make around 207 hp and 98.5 pound-feet of torque with the supercharger making 20.5 PSI of boost under the hood. Although we do not have any specifics of Team 38’s H2, there were definitely big power gains with remapped ECU and race-spec exhaust units coming into the picture.

The team 38 recorded a 211.621 mph speed on the first pass on August 14 and a return speed of 207.263 mph on August 15 to score a combined average of 209.442 mph. The average speed of the two runs 209.442 mph was recognized as a world speed record in P-PB 1000 class, illustrating the lofty performance of the Ninja H2.

Formed in 1975, Team 38 originally was made up of members of the Kawasaki Experimental Technology and Engineering Department. Named after the Building 38 at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) Akashi Works Plant, it has a history of setting records and has competed in multiple national and international races and has learned vital information in the development of many Kawasaki motorcycles we get to ride on our streets.