Again riding for his Phase One Yamaha team, Cudlin who made his Suzuka debut last year, rode solidly to gain crucial points toward his championship campaign.

In the event that is widely regarded as the toughest motorcycle race in the world, Cudlin alongside Nowland and Minnin struggled in practice and qualifying, with Cudlin’s best time only managing a 47^th spot on the grid for the Sunday’s race.

However a trouble free race with faultless pitwork saw a charge through the field to finish 17^th outright in the race and 2^nd in the all important World Championship Superbike class.

“It’s been a tough race. We never got the set up right here this weekend which made it harder for all of us on the track, but we dug deep and pushed on to a good result.” Cudlin said.

“Finishing 2^nd in the SBK class is great for the championship and this result is a real credit to everyone in our team. We all rode hard, the team worked hard and it really paid off.”

Cudlin has moved to 4^th in the World Endurance Championship standings, only 1 point shy of 3^rd place with 2 rounds remaining.

“I really feel like I’m back on the pace again and if we can keep this momentum going who knows how the championship could turn out? I’m just going to give it everything in the final 2 rounds and see what happens.”

Cudlin will fly from Japan this week to Europe where he’ll prepare for the next round of the series in Germany in 2 weeks time.