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24 year old Australian, Alex Cudlin, is now the 2010 Superstock Endurance World Cup Champion after claiming victory in the final round of the WEC held at the weekend in the middle East in Qatar. 2010 has been a break through year for Cudlin, who signed with the Qatar Endurance Racing Team early in December 2009, to contest the 2010 World Endurance Superstock World Cup. Immediately after joining the team, Alex began his winning streak, claiming victory in the opening race at the Le Mans 24 Hour in France. Cudlin and Team Qert then led the World Cup series from that point on, racing in the 8 hour in Spain and again in France for the Bol Dor 24 Hour, and then finally in the last race in Qatar. Cudlin went into the final race with an 11 point lead and knew to win his first World Cup, he would need a strong podium finish. Cudlin and Team QERT then produced one of the best races of the season, rising to the pressure from the other teams to claim victory by one lap in the 8 hour race, culminating in the top prize of the 2010 World Cup. "What a feeling. Words just can't adequately describe exactly how I feel. This is a goal I have been chasing since I began racing at 4 years of age, dreaming that one day I would have a World title next to my name. I feel so honoured to see my name on the World Champion winner's list", commented an emotional Cudlin.
" The race went exactly to plan. During practice we changed our original race strategy, qualifying with race tyres to see exactly how well we would actually do in the race. Usually in qualifying we have very soft tyres to ensure a really fast lap, but we decided against that this weekend and concentrated on a perfect race set up for the bike. We climbed into the lead on about the 3rd lap and we never looked like getting beaten for the next 8 hours. The team's pit stops were faultless and the bike performed perfectly, as did all the team's riders. We had a lot of pressure on us this weekend. We had been leading the title all year, so we had to finish it off with a good finish. Winning the final race of the year at my team's home circuit was really special, but to be crowned as a the champions and win World Cup is just an amazing feeling" said Cudlin. Alex's 2010 form has shown big results, contesting and winning the Endurance World Cup and finishing 2nd in the Qatar International Road Racing Championship. Alex has contested a total of 16 races with a staggering 13 podium finishes, culminating in a World Title, making 2010 a year to remember for the likeable Aussie. " I have a lot of people to thank, but the biggest thanks goes to QMMF for what they have done for me this year. They helped me in moving my racing career forward and to now have this World Cup is in huge part due to them. Also, a big thanks goes to my family, who have followed me all over the world in support of helping me to chase my dream and thankyou to my girlfriend Amy, who has stood behind me every step of the way. It has been an emotional ride throughout my career, but the injurys from crashes and the times that I would rather forget all pale into insignificance when I look at the Gold Medal I am now holding as the Champion. It's worth all the hard work & effort." Alex has now returned to his home in Australia where he will have a few weeks off and begin his plans for the 2011 racing season.
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