Damian Cudlin’s 2008 World Endurance Championship campaign remains in tatters after another set back at the rain soaked second round in Spain on the weekend.

Riding alongside James Haydon for the Phase One Yamaha Team, Cudlin’s race started strongly and despite the appalling conditions Cudlin moved to 4^th by the first round of pit stops.

Moments later the Kawasaki France and Folch Yamaha teams both crashed and the teamed swooped into 2^nd place. Haydon continued the momentum as the pair crossed the halfway point, until disaster struck when Haydon fell.

A quick repair saw Cudlin back on the bike and continue his charge back through the field, reaching an impressive 5^th before a brake failure on the machine caused Cudlin to crash heavily.

“It was all going so well until our first crash.” Cudlin explained. “It was treacherous out there and a lot of people were going down, unfortunately it caught James out. I tried to get us back into the race and felt pretty comfortable in the conditions but then I crashed with no brakes. That one frightened me a bit.”

Undetected damage in Haydon’s crash was deemed to cause the failure, as the Phase One squad re-grouped and repaired the machine again in the hope of a point scoring finish.

However it was not be as a final crash in Haydon’s stint sounded the end of the race for the battered Phase One Team.

“It’s really disappointing for all of us, as we came so close once again.” said a deflated Cudlin. “We’ve all put in so much work and my heart goes out to my team who just can’t seem to win a trick lately. I know that this won’t stop us though. We’ll bounce back from this.”

The Phase One Team, who now sit just 15^th in the World Championship standings, face an uphill struggle to get back into a prominent championship position by seasons end, however Cudlin insists the team’s fighting spirit will get them back on track.

“There’s a lot of racing left this season and we won’t be giving up. It’s only bad luck that’s kept us of the box both times so far, so I know we’ll get our turn soon enough. I think we’ll turn it around in Japan.”

Cudlin will now focus on his German Supersport duties, where he’s currently placed 2^nd in the series, until the next round of the World Endurance Championships at Suzuka, Japan, in July.