One of Australia’s most well known motorcycle racers, Damian Cudlin, is facing an uncertain future in racing with confirmation that BMW have withdrawn from the Endurance World Championship – the series Cudlin was set to compete in for season 2014.
Last season, Cudlin juggled a variety of racing commitments from IDM Superbike to Endurance World Championship and even the tail end of the season in MotoGP, however despite encouraging results in each series, Cudlin has suddenly found himself in an uncomfortable position as each team he raced for has either withdrawn from racing or secured backing with other riders.
Cudlin dominated the opening half of the IDM Superbike Championship, winning the opening three races in a row before a brake failure in Austria spun his championship bid out of control. After finishing third in the series despite failing to score in an astonishing six races, Damian’s RAC Team announced their withdrawal from the sport at the end of the season.
In a similar story in the Endurance World Championship, Cudlin topped the time sheets at the official Pre-Suzuka 8 Hour tests for his BMW Motorrad France Team, but suffered another technical failure on race weekend, which sent the Aussie crashing into a wall at high speed, breaking his leg. Undeterred, Cudlin bounced back to finish second at the German round of the Endurance World Championship just three weeks later.
Finally, a GP lifeline came in the form of PBM who sought a replacement for Yonny Hernandez in MotoGP. Cudlin, who initially agreed to a single event, was signed for the remainder of the MotoGP season to aid PBM’s development of their self-built CRT racer. Again, Cudlin’s fortunes were mixed with a series of technical failures, securing best (and only) finishes of 21st position in Japan and Australia.
For 2014 Cudlin was poised to continue with BMW Motorrad France in the Endurance World Championship – a championship he finished second in twice, in 2011 and 2012 – however a late decision from BMW to withdraw from the series has left Cudlin with few options to mount a competitive World Championship assault.
“There are still a couple of options left for me but I need to secure some personal sponsors for myself to make them viable.” Cudlin admitted. “I wanted to stay loyal to BMW Motorrad France, whom I’ve ridden for in the last four seasons, but the rug’s been pulled from underneath us. Now it’s a race against time to find sponsors and sign with a good team, but it’s not easy. Particularly this late in the off-season, most of the other options I had are now gone.”
Cudlin believes his best chances of securing a good seat remain in the Endurance World Championship – a series Cudlin has become a leading figure of in the last five years.
“EWC is still my priority as it remains the best place for me to secure a ride with a competitive team capable of winning the world championship,” Cudlin insisted “but I’m open to all options at this point… even ones in Australia.”
Cudlin believes the next two weeks will determine the outcome of his racing activities in 2014.
“I feel like I’m at the top of my game riding wise and I know I’ve got a lot of racing left in me… I just need some support to help secure a ride that I deserve.”
Sponsorship enquiries can be emailed to: [email protected] or sent via Damian’s social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin pages.
