Damian Cudlin steered his Alpha Technik Van Zon Kraftwerk BMW to a pair of strong results at the second round of the IDM series at Oschersleben on the weekend, including a podium finish; the first for Cudlin in the SBK category.
Suffering from set up issues on Friday’s free practice, Cudlin and his crew made huge progress in Saturday’s qualifying sessions allowing the Aussie to secure 8th position on the grid in the highly competitive field which saw less than a second cover the top 10 riders. Confident that his race pace was stronger than that of some of his rivals, Cudlin anticipated more progress in Sunday’s two Superbike races. After topping the morning’s warm up session, Cudlin and his team made the final preparations to his BMW and lined up for race one in good shape.
As the lights went out to signal the start, Cudlin launched off the line but got boxed in at Oschersleben’s first turn and lost vital ground on the leading group. Cudlin moved to 10th at the end of the first lap and continued to gain positions early in the race. Cudlin soon found himself in 8th position but with some work to do to reconnect with the 6 rider group up ahead. Reducing the gap significantly each lap, Cudlin made up ground on the leading riders however a crash involving Ducati’s Dario Gussipeti and KTM’s Stefen Nebel brought out the red flag, forcing a two-part race. Unable to join the restart from injuries sustained in the crash, Gussipeti and Nebel were forced to watch from the medical centre as the second leg got underway.
This time Cudlin blasted from the line and moved into 4th position behind pole sitter Smrz, championship leader Bauer and arch rival Ranseder. The four set a hot pace from the start before Cudlin launched an attack on Ranseder, moving into 3rd. Suddenly Bauer fell victim to engine problems and Cudlin, Ranseder and reigning champion Muggeridge fought over 2nd place. Unable to catch Smrz ahead, Cudlin held his rivals at bay and crossed the line in 2nd position, giving him a 3rd placed finish on combined time.
