Damian Cudlin enjoyed the best results of his rookie IDM Superbike season with a double podium finish at Schleiz on the weekend.

Coming off the back of a successful race in the Suzuka 8 Hour just a week earlier, Cudlin re-adjusted to European time and immediately set a strong pace in Friday’s training sessions.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions, held in hot and humid conditions, saw the Aussie secure a 5^th place slot despite encountering traffic on each of his qualifying tyre runs. Disappointed with the second row, Cudlin remained confident that his race pace would prevail in Sunday’s races.

“We seemed to be on the pace in the wet and the dry during practice and I was confident of sticking it on the front row in qualifying but I got held up on each of my hot laps which cost me time.” Cudlin explained after qualifying. “The BMW is working great here though and I’m confident of strong results in any weather condition.”

Cudlin started Sunday strongly by topping warm up in dry conditions before rain settled on the Schleiz circuit insuring a wet first race.

Bursting off the line in the tricky conditions, Cudlin slotted in behind countrymen Karl Muggeridge in the opening laps as the pair broke away from the pack by 3 seconds. A nasty crash from Ducati’s Dario Guessipetti brought out the red flag, which race officials deemed required a full restart. Despite losing their considerable early advantage, Cudlin put his head down again at the restart moving past Muggeridge for the lead and stretching an advantage at the front. Cudlin looked set to claim his first IDM Superbike win until the track began to dry at an alarming rate. Cudlin fought hard on his deteriorating wet tyres, smoke bellowing from the rear of his BMW as he slid sideways on the exit of every turn. Clinging to the lead as the last lap approached, Cudlin held back a determined Smrz on intermediates, but was eventually forced to concede to the Czech as he snatched the win from the Aussie.

“I tried as hard as I could and was determined to get my first win of the season, but the race was about a lap and a half too long for my wet tyres and I couldn’t hold Smrz off for any longer.” Cudlin said after the first race. “It’s unlucky that we lost our advantage in race one, and even unluckier that the restart was delayed for so long, but I’m happy enough with 2^nd. I hope we can go one better in the second race!”

Continue reading ‘Double podium keeps IDM title chances alive’

Australia’s Damian Cudlin has taken the lead in the 2011 Endurance World Championship after claiming his best ever finish at the Suzuka 8 Hours Race inJapanon the weekend.

The BMW Motorrad Team of Gimbert, Nigon and Cudlin entered the race trailing championship leaders Suzuki Endurance Racing Team by 2 points, but a determined effort saw them dominate their rivals in Japan, securing 4^th place at the finish; 4 laps ahead of SERT in 9^th.

Entering the BMW S1000RR into the Suzuka 8 Hour for the first time, the BMW Motorrad Team had a lot to learn in the limited practice sessions, however after making rapid progress with every outing, the team secured a slot in the Top 10 Superpole Shoot Out which determined the starting positions for the famous event.

With rain interrupting Cudlin’s attempt at a fast lap in Superpole, Frenchman Erwan Nigon was put in charge of securing the team’s grid position, and he stormed to a 2.09.5 minute lap time and sensational 7^th place. Having achieved their best ever starting position at the Suzuka 8 Hour event, the BMW Motorrad Team then elected Cudlin to start the race who’d shown impressive speed on race rubber all weekend.

Bursting from his grid position, Cudlin made a tremendous start and ran as high as 5^th in the opening laps before finding a comfortable rhythm in a group of 3 riders battling for 6^th. Riding with speed, security and intelligence, Cudlin turned the team’s fastest lap of the race before bringing the bike back for Gimbert at the first round of stops.

“The start procedure seemed to drag on forever and while I was sitting in the sweltering heat all I wanted to do was go racing.” Cudlin explained. “The last time I started a race it was a bit of a disaster when I couldn’t start the engine, so I was focused on getting it right this time. Thankfully I made a clean start and put in a solid first stint. I spent the whole hour riding around with fellow Aussie Wayne Maxwell which kept us both entertained!”

Continue reading ‘Cudlin leads World Championship after Suzuka success’