SAITAMA, May 3 — After over 13 hours on his Yamaha Jog scooter, Japanese rider Masaru Abe smashed the world record for a continuous wheelie at the Kawaguchi Auto Race facility in Saitama, Japan recently.

Abe never stopped once in setting the astonishing mark of 500.5322km, which obliterated the distance of 331.0195km set by motorcycle trials rider Yasuyuki Kudo in 1991.

Although the track was oval-shaped, Abe maintained a speed of 40kph through excellent body balance and throttle work for lap after lap (688.495m per lap) with 39.2km achieved after the first hour.

Japanese rider Masaru Abe on his way to a new world record for continuous wheelie from the Reuters video.

Two hours in, though, Abe experienced lower back pain and had to down painkillers to continue. Abe, though, powered by practice runs of over 10 hours, was able to continue.

Aged 33, the same age as Kudo was when he set his record back in 1991, Abe passed his compatriot's mark after eight hours, 18 minutes and 43 seconds. He raised his left arm in victory and pointed to the sky to huge cheers from his support team.

He was able to continue for almost five more hours until he passed the 500km mark, though he was still short of the 600km dustance he had hoped to cover. — Reuters