Damian Cudlin combined his German Supersport duties with his World Endurance commitments at Oschersleben in Germany on the weekend.
Competing in both championships, Cudlin was kept busy over the weekend, constantly swapping from R6 to R1 in a hectic schedule that saw highs and lows for the young Aussie.
Starting with Saturday’s first Supersport race, Cudlin made a terrific start on his SKM Bike Promotion R6, surging to 3rd in the opening laps, before making a move on current champion Diss for 2nd.
Cudlin then strung together a series of fast laps, trying to mount pressure on race leader Tode. However Tode proved too strong in the first leg and held his nerve, despite Cudlin’s best efforts, to take the win 2 seconds clear of Cudlin, closely followed by Penzkofer.
“I tried as hard as I could to put the pressure on Tode today but he was just too strong.” Cudlin conceded.
“I rode a good race but finished 2nd. Tode was just a little faster today and he deserved to win. I’ve got some ideas that might help us tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens in race 2. It’s still a great result for our team, made even better with Penz on the podium too.”
Cudlin didn’t have much time to celebrate as his attention turned swiftly to the World Endurance series and the 8 Hour Endurance race for his Phase One Yamaha team.
Teamed with former YART team mate Sebastian Scarnato and current Spanish Supersport Champion Graeme Gowland, Cudlin led the Phase One charge in the first hour, climbing to 7th despite starting from a low 24th position on the grid.
Gowland took the baton from Cudlin for the team’s second leg and impressed with his speed and consistency. Despite missing most of practice due to other commitments, Scarnato also got on with the job at hand, as the team moved into contention for the podium by the halfway mark.
Current World Champions SERT were staging a comeback after a small crash at the halfway point, which pushed the Phase One crew harder to keep their podium chances alive, however the SERT force proved too strong and overcome Phase One in the 7th hour.
Pushing to keep the pressure on, Cudlin raced hard in the final stint before giving all of the Phase One crew a scare with a fall just 15 minutes from the finish. In a gritty display Cudlin picked up the damaged machine with incredible speed and raced on to the finish, losing just 25 seconds on the lap of the crash.
“I was trying hard to keep the pressure on SERT and saw my crew signalling with an extra pit board giving me the gap, but it was dark and I couldn’t see the numbers. I just assumed it must have been close, so I pushed as hard as I could, perhaps a little too much.” Cudlin explained with a smile.
“I was passing a slower rider when I missed a gear change on a 3rd gear left hander. Before I knew it I was on my ass. I was just lucky the bike wasn’t too badly damaged and I could carry on. Certainly gave the boys a scare!”
Cudlin crossed the line in 4th and secured 16 points towards the World Championship, lifting Phase One to 9th in the standings.
Forced to miss the end of race celebrations, Cudlin enjoyed a few hours sleep before lining up for Sunday’s second Supersport leg.
The 600 field was faced with a wet track on Sunday as Cudlin faced his last chance to keep his championship alive. Finishing behind Tode would hand the title to the German, so all eyes were on the battle at hand.
Cudlin started strongly in the wet encounter, sitting 4th, closely following Tode’s every move. With 2 laps remaining Tode dragged away on the back straight as Cudlin’s bike slowed to a halt. An electrical fault put an end to Cudlin’s race, as Tode finished 3rd securing the 2008 Supersport Championship.
“It was a real shame we had this problem today but that’s racing”
“Tode deserved to be champion this year and full credit to him and his crew. We gave it our best shot and I think we can still be proud of everything we’ve accomplished this year already. Now we’ve just got to fight for the runner up spot at Hockenheim.” Cudlin said.
Cudlin will now enjoy a 3 week break before heading to the German Championship final round at Hockenheim on 5/6/7th of September.
