Damian Cudlin and his BMW Motorrad France Team came painfully close to being crowned World Champions for the first time at the final round of the Endurance World Championship inQatarlast weekend but were forced to watch the title slip from their grasp and into the hands of reigning champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

The season’s finale was billed as a title showdown between these two teams and that’s exactly what occurred when the pair went head to head in the Qatari desert. Fans witnessed one of the most nail biting endurance races in recent history, where the title of champion remained undecided until the very last lap.

The betting money had been on BMW Motorrad France’s line up of Damian Cudlin, Sebastian Gimbert and Erwan Nigon, who completely dominated the weekend’s proceedings, topping every practice and qualifying session on their way to a convincing pole position time that shattered the previous record. SERT however looked noticeably shaky in the lead up to the race, losing Japanese rider Daisaku Sakai to injury, then suffering another hard crash from Vincent Phillipe on their way to qualifying a distant 4^th.

As the race began in hot and humid conditions, Frenchman Gimbert rode the opening laps cautiously before picking off his rivals with relative ease and moving to an early lead. Gimbert proceeded to pull away from title rivals SERT, however the Yamaha Austria Racing Team substitute Katsuyuki Nakasuga began making the BMW Team nervous as he clung desperately to Gimbert’s rear wheel. The deepest fear of the BMW Motorrad France Team became a reality on lap 12 when the YART rider attempted a desperate overtaking manoeuvre, crashing in the process and taking the innocent Gimbert with him as the pair tumbled into the gravel trap. The BMW box erupted with emotions directly after the incident as Gimbert returned to the pits for substantial repairs.

Continue reading ’30 seconds short of World Championship!’

Just 1 week since his surprise appearance in MotoGP as a replacement rider for Loris Capirossi at the Pramac Ducati Team, Damian Cudlin has now been confirmed as a replacement for Hector Barbera, who broke his collarbone in Japan last week.

The 28 year old Australian will ride a Ducati Desmosedici for the Mapfre Aspar Team at his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island next weekend.

“To get the call up the first time to replace Loris was a big enough shock, but to get another start in MotoGP for another team at the very next race is just unbelievable to me.” Cudlin explained. “You wait your whole life to get a shot at MotoGP and then suddenly two come along at once. If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up!”

Cudlin impressed many with his performance at Motegi, quickly adapting to a bike he’d never ridden, at a circuit he’d never seen before. Despite crashing out of a certain points scoring finish in Japan, Cudlin proved to be an asset to the Pramac Team both in terms of speed and valuable feedback on the Ducati Desmosedici. Now, starting in front of his home crowd at a track he’s familiar with, Cudlin hopes to carry on from where he left off in Japan.

“Obviously in Motegi I had a lot to learn in a short space of time which made things a bit tougher for me, but at least at Phillip Island I’ll know which way the track goes. I haven’t actually ridden there for a long time, not since my Australian Superbike days back in 2004 or 2005, but I’ve got a good memory and to ride a MotoGP bike around there should be unreal. I think a lot of my family and friends; probably half of Taree will be coming down to cheer me on, so I’ll definitely have plenty of support. I can’t wait.”

Cudlin will arrive in Australia on Wednesday in preparation for Friday’s first practice session at Phillip Island.

“I must thank the Mapfre Aspar Team for giving me this opportunity to race at home. It should be a great experience and I just want to enjoy every minute of it. I also want to thank everyone who’s sent me messages of support in the last couple of weeks. It’s blown me away and I hope to make everyone proud at Phillip Island.”