Bad luck costs Cudlin chance of WEC win
Damian Cudlin’s string of bad luck continued in his World Endurance Championship campaign in Albacete, Spain on the weekend, with the Australian finishing 6th for his BMP Elf Honda squad after a stunning comeback from last position.
Cudlin’s weekend couldn’t have started any stronger; the Aussie claimed the top spot in each free practice session before out pacing his rather more accomplished team mate, former WEC champ Matt Lagrive, in regular qualifying. Cudlin then went on to secure his first WEC pole position, getting the upper hand in an exciting Superpole battle with 4 time World Endurance Champion Vincent Phillipe.
“Starting from Pole Position in Endurance racing really doesn’t matter that much” Cudlin conceded in the press conference after Superpole “but it matters to me. I’ve been trying since 2002 to get one of these and now I’ve done it. I proved a lot of people wrong today and that makes me feel good. I want to thank the BMP Elf Team for giving me the opportunity to show what I’m capable of, and I hope to repay them with a win in the race.”
Cudlin was elected to start the race for the BMP squad but when the flag waved early, a startled Cudlin was swallowed up by half of the field as he scampered away from the grid. Quickly slicing his way through the pack, he soon moved into 4th position and began closing in on the leaders in front when disaster struck.
An engine failure by one of the backmarker teams had spewed oil all over the circuit’s long turn 7, and with no oil flags waived by the marshals, the leading riders, including Cudlin, were thrown from their machines in spectacular style. 8 riders from the top 10, and more than a dozen in total, fell in the melee resulting in a safety car period as Gregorio Lavilla was treated for injuries and the circuit was cleaned.
The gritty Aussie returned to his machine and managed to limp it back to the pits for repairs as the race went on. The BMP Elf Team then carried out an astonishing repair which put them back in the race and on a comeback charge. Cudlin and Lagrive traded fastest laps of the race as the pair surged through the order, until a second crash by Lagrive halted their ambitions of a comeback podium. In another stunning repair time, the BMP Elf Team soon re-entered the race and battled on to secure as many championship points as possible, finally crossing the line in 7th place. A further disqualification moved the team to 6th in the final standings; a position they now also hold in the World Endurance Championship standings.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to come away with this result as I think we really could’ve won the race, but it could’ve been much worse and we still put some points on the board.” Cudlin said after the race. “When I saw Phillipe and Giabanni go down in front of me I thought they must’ve touched each other or taken themselves out, then the next thing I knew I was sliding on my ass. As I was spinning into the gravel, I could see other bikes crashing too and, to be honest, I was worried about getting cleaned up by one of them. It was like a war zone. Once we got back into the race we’d lost a lot of ground and then after the 2nd crash our hopes of a podium were pretty much shot. I’ve got to thank my BMP crew though, they didn’t put a foot wrong all race and we had a good package this weekend. Sooner or later we’re going to win one these races; we just need lady luck on our side for a change!”
Cudlin will now switch his attention back to his IDM Supersport duties, where he currently leads the championship after 3 races. The next round of the IDM will be in Nurburgring, Germany on the 29/30th of May.
