Damian Cudlin reclaimed the top spot in the IDM Supersport Championship after an overall victory in Sachsenring on the weekend.
Coming from a turbulent previous round in Nurburgring, Cudlin was keen to return to the race winning form he’d shown earlier in the season and to take back over at the top of the standings. The Aussie fired an early warning shot to his competitors in qualifying, stealing pole position in the dry conditions with a record breaking lap time of 1.26.3.
With an intense battle forming from championship rivals Gunter Knobloch and Michi Ranseder, as well as threats from Wahr, Vostarek and Penzkofer, all eyes were on the SSP field as race one got underway.
HRP’s Kevin Wahr got the holeshot and made an early break at the front while Cudlin moved into 2nd position ahead of Knobloch and Penzkofer. Cudlin soon set his sights on Wahr and moved within striking distance as the field started the 5th lap. Making a calculated move into turn one, Cudlin stole the lead and turned up the pace for the remaining 15 laps. With 3 laps to go Cudlin made a break from his pursuers and eased over the line to take his second victory of the season, 2.6 seconds clear of Wahr and Knobloch.
“This one feels really good after the troubles we had in Nurburgring. I knew we could bounce back and we proved it today.” Cudlin gleamed after the race. “I got myself into a good position early in the race and once I got to the front I managed to control it from there. The MRC Austria Team, and particularly my Crew Chief, Lars Sanger, really put a lot of work in to bring us back to the front so I can’t take all the credit for this one. I hope I can give them another race win tomorrow.”
Sunday’s second race proved to be a cracker with 5 riders challenging at the front. After an awful start, Cudlin had to work his way up the order as Vostarek and Knobloch lead at the front of the field. Cudlin soon managed to latch onto the 5 bike freight train as Vostarek crashed out of the lead. Slicing his way through to the lead, Cudlin looked set to repeat his performance from the day before, however lapped riders spoiled any chance of a get away. Spurred on by the chance to attack, Ranseder and Knobloch relegated Cudlin back to 3rd as the trio started the final lap. With his exhausted rear tyre spinning wildly, Cudlin made a daring pass on Knobloch under the bridge for 2nd, and moved into position for a last corner attack on Ranseder. With nothing separating the pair as they entered the final turn, Ranseder held on and took the win ahead of Cudlin and Knobloch, setting up a fascinating 3 way championship battle for the final half of the season.
“Today’s race was much tougher than the first, made much harder from my crap start.” Cudlin said bluntly after the race. “I took a lot out of the tyres catching up and getting to the front, and when I finally tried to check out they just weren’t having it. It made for an exciting race at the end, and I think I probably could’ve made that pass on Michi in the final turn but it was risky and I’d prefer 20 points than a trip to the medical centre. Overall it’s been a good weekend. A pole position, a race win and we’re back in the championship lead. We needed this result and it’s a real boost for our team heading to Salzburg. I hope we can keep this momentum going now and win some more races!”
Cudlin now leads the IDM Supersport Championship with 119 points, from Knobloch on 108, and Ranseder on 98. The battle will resume at Salzburgring, Austria on the 3/4th July.
