Alex Cudlin has just returned back to his home base in Australia after a successful outing at round one of the 2010 World Endurance Championships in France, at the famous Le Mans circuit. Riding his first Endurance race of the 2010 season with new team, QERT Suzuki, Alex was hoping to start the season with a good result. Team QERT Suzuki were fast from the first practice session and showed they had the potential to finish in a podium position at the end of the race. Alex was elected by the team principal to start the race and at 3pm on Saturday afternoon the grueling Le Mans 24 Hour race & the start of the 2010 World championship was under way. Alex quickly made up positions on the first few laps to bring the bike in at the end of his hour long session in first position in the Superstock category. Alex and team QERT then raced throughout the night tussling for the number one position with rival team Number 50 Suzuki. The teams were separated by just 1 lap throughout the majority of the 24 hour marathon, making it a fierce battle for the number one spot right to the finish line. 15 hours into the race, QERT Suzuki ran into trouble with a fuel pump malfunctioning, losing 7 laps in the pits whilst trying to solve the issue. This didn’t take the wind out of their sails however & QERT mounted a strong attack to climb back to the number one position, pushing hard to lap 1 to 2 seconds per lap faster than the team in front. Finally, with just 3 hours left in the race, QERT Suzuki were back in the number one position. By the end of the 24 hour race, team QERT Suzuki crossed the line as the winners of the 2010 Le Mans 24 hour in the Superstock Class. A first for Alex and a first for the QERT team as well, this win has put them on top of the championship points with just 3 rounds remaining in the Championship. "That was a great race. It was tough. The Number 50 bike pushed us hard throughout the whole race - there was no let up or rest. Every session on the bike was intense. To come back from a 7 lap deficit to take the win was a perfect result. It showed just how good this team is. I’m really happy to have won round one of the championship and of course this was my first world cup race win, so it’s very special for myself and the team" smiled Cudlin. Alex’s next race will be round 5 of the Qatar International Road Racing championship in 2 weeks time, before heading to Spain the keep his winning momentum going at Round 2 of the 2010 World Endurance Championships. |
