Despite a “frustrating weekend” by his standards, Damian Cudlin remains in title contention after the 5th round of the IDM Superbike Championship at Salzburgring last weekend.
The reigning IDM Supersport Champion rode the Salzburgring venue for the first time on the bigger and more powerful Superbike machine, reaching speeds of over 300kph on the Salzburgring’s daunting back straight. However it didn’t take the Aussie long to adapt as he snatched provisional pole position in the opening qualifying session on Saturday. Struggling to time the all important slip-stream needed for a great lap time at the Austrian circuit, Cudlin slipped to 6th in the final moments of final qualifying, relegating him back to the second row for Sunday’s two14 lap races.
Blasting from the line in the opening race of the day, Cudlin sliced his way to the lead for the first time in his IDM SBK career. Holding the lead for the opening laps, Cudlin headed a 5 rider freight train that broke away from the pack and jostled amongst themselves for the majority of the race. With 4 laps to go, Cudlin began losing vital ground from the leading trio as tyre wear began to thwart his efforts. Desperate for a podium in front of his Alpha Technik, Van Zon, Kraftwerk and BMW supporters, Cudlin made a last push on the final lap and closed the gap, but ultimately fell short of his target by 0.091 seconds and finished in 4th place.
“It’s really disappointing to miss out on the podium in this race, especially when my BMW was so strong on the straights, but unfortunately we just didn’t have the pace of the leading guys in the closing stages.” Cudlin admitted. “I gave it a real push on that last lap, even despite rain drops hitting my visor, but it just wasn’t enough. Hopefully I can turn the tables in race 2.”
The IDM Superbike field gridded up in damp weather conditions for race 2 and debate began whether the race should be run or not at all. Despite various riders claiming the conditions were unsafe, the race was started on schedule and as planned.
Continue reading ‘Cudlin still with Title chances after Salzburg’
