Australian Damian Cudlin has burst onto the German IDM Supersport scene with double podium finishes at the series opener at Lausitzring in Germany on the weekend. 

Starting from the 6th on the grid, Cudlin made a terrible start in the first race of the 2008 IDM Championship, languishing in 12th place on the opening lap before begining his charge through the field. In a clinical display, Cudlin sliced through the pack one by one aboard his Dunlop shod Yamaha R6 to eventually reach the final step on the podium in 3rd place. 

„When I´m not racing, I´m teaching race schools and I show people how to get off the line all the time, but all I showed today was how NOT to start a race.“ Cudlin joked. 

„I made things a lot harder for myself with that slow first lap but I made up for it later on. I just felt really strong on the bike, particularly when the others were fading and I was so determined to get onto that podium. It was a nice reward for all the hard work I´ve been putting in.“

Cudlin´s second race on Sunday proved to be better still as he showed he was in no mood to hang around, moving from 5th to 3rd on the second lap of the race. Reigning Supersport Champion Sebastian Diss was next in Cudlin´s sights as the pair exchanged blows for the next series of laps.

Losing ground on the leader all the time, Cudlin made a pass that stuck on Diss as he began chasing Triumph´s Arne Tode. However Tode was too fast on the Lausitzring complex and held his advantage over the next 5 laps.  

Cudlin then came under fire from team mate Rico Penzkopfer as the fight for 2nd became a hotly contested affair. Trailing Penzkopfer on the final lap, Cudlin made a stunning last lap pass to take 2nd at the flag. 

„That really was a lot of fun“ Cudlin beamed. 

„I tried to get to the front as quickly as I could in the hope of chasing down Tode but he was just too quick today. By the time I got into 2nd he was already away with it, so I focussed on staying in front of the rest until the finish. I had a real fight with Penz in the last couple of laps that was really a lot of fun. Finally I made my move on the last lap which worked and I managed to hold it until the flag.“ 

With his 3rd and 2nd place finishes, Cudlin now sits 2nd in the title chase as the series moves to Oschersleben, a circuit Cudlin knows well from his 24 hour World Endurance Championship experience. 

„I´m really happy with this weekend and also happy I could re-pay my SKM Bike Promotion Yamaha Team back with these results for having the faith to run with me this year. I´m really excited about the year ahead and can´t wait to get to Oschersleben for the next round.“ 

The next round of the IDM series will be on the 17/18th of May.