Robbie Maddison, the Australian motocross legend, is now the watercross world record holder by crossing the Bosphorus on a motorbike. Just that !
The Strait of Istanbul, also called the Bosphorus Strait, is an incredibly busy sea route connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. It is 32 kilometers long, with a width ranging from 730 to 3300 meters and a depth ranging from 30 to 120 meters. It separates the European and Asian parts of Turkey's capital, Istanbul. According to the local tourist site "All About Istanbul", around 48 ships pass through this strait each year, three times more than the Suez Canal and four times more than the Panama Canal. Robbie Maddison, in this case, crossed this strait aboard a specially prepared KTM.
Special platforms were prepared in Istanbul's Ortaky and Beylerbeyi districts for the Red Bull athlete and the Bosphorus was closed to maritime traffic for a while. Descending to the sea surface from Ortaköy on his motorcycle, Robbie Maddison reached Beylerbeyi in about 90 seconds at a speed of 70 km/h and completed his goal. After a short rest in Beylerbeyi, he returned to Ortaköy on his motorcycle, again in about 90 seconds.
Overall, the strait was closed for a harsh 15-minute window, after which the attempt would have to be abandoned if unsuccessful. Fortunately, the stuntman had been preparing for this attempt for over a year, and all that preparation paid off.
“I am very happy to ride my motorcycle for the first time in the deep waters of the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus is one of the busiest canals in the world. All kinds of marine vehicles crossed the waters of the Bosphorus, but no motorcycles passed. Today we challenged the boundaries here,” did he declare.
“We prepared for months and researched how we could do this. Our name was written beneath a great and remarkable story. In exactly one minute, accompanied by seagulls and above the waters of the Bosphorus, I crossed from Europe to Asia. I will never forget this pleasure", he added, before concluding “This is the hardest task I have ever done. May this performance be an inspiration to all who are currently facing challenges. Either you think big or you don't think at all. I mean, love each other and think big.”
