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Oil Cost Cudlin PDF Print E-mail

 

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Alex Cudlin's chances of securing back to back race victories in this year’s 2010 World Endurance Superstock Championships come to an end just 6 laps into the race.

Contesting the 8 hours of Albacete in Spain, Alex and the Qert team were dominating every session they competed in.

Showing the form and pace they had in winning round one of the championship at the infamous Le Mans 24 Hour in France only a few weeks before, Qert were making sure that everyone in the paddock knew they could back it up with a second victory.  

After team mate Anthony Dellhale stormed to a fantastic starting position, posting the fastest Superstock time and 3rd outright in the Superbike category in Superpole, the team were on a high knowing they could win the Superstock class.

After Anthony’s sensational superpole lap, the team elected him to start the race, with Alex going second on the rotor. Anthony stormed away from the start to position himself in the leading superbike group and comfortably in the lead in the Superstock category, but just 6 laps into the race, disaster had struck, turning the whole race upside down.

 

Entering turn 7, Anthony and 9 other bikes, crashed in one big pile up. The problem was that oil had been dropped by a rider’s bike on the previous lap and the track marshal hadn’t put the oil flag out to warn the approaching riders. When the leading 9 bikes come through to enter the turn, all of them fell, resulting in a huge crash and the safety car out on the track as the carnage was cleaned up.

Anthony ran back to his bike to try and get it back to the pits for repairs as quickly as possible, but the fuel tank had completely ripped off in the crash, resulting in a lengthy and costly push back to the pits.

After pushing for some 10 minutes, Anthony got the bike back to the pits, and frantic repairs were carried out by the QERT team mechanics & pit crew.

Alex then rejoined the race 9 laps down from the leaders and in last position, with 7 hours remaining in the race.

Alex then set about producing fast times to try and claw back some of the deficit to the leading bikes and hopefully salvage some points for the race.

Alex, Anthony and Sultan, their third rider, all pushed for the remainder of the race to cross the line in 6th position, just 2 laps behind the winning Superstock team.

"Unfortunately with the crash Anthony had at the start, we lost too many laps in the race. We were last and just had to push as hard as we could to make it up the order. To finish just 2 laps from the leaders, after having been 9 laps down, proves we were the fastest superstock team here. In racing sometimes things don’t work out the way you want. This is exactly what happened to us today. We know we can beat the other teams; we just have to put it all together come race day. We won the first round in Le Mans and finished 6th here, so hopefully at the next round, which is the Bol Dor 24 hour, we can take the win again", enthused a positive Cudlin

Even though the QERT team had a result they were not hoping for, they increased their Championship lead to 17 points after the 2nd placed team in the Championship failed to finish the race.

There is still 65 points up for grabs in the final 2 rounds of the championship, so Cudlin and team QERT will try their hardest to win in the Bol Dor 24 hour in September and hopefully capture the 2010 World Endurance Superstock Cup crown.

Alex will now turn his attentions to this weekend’s racing in Qatar for the final round of the Qatar International Road Racing Championships, where Cudlin currently sits 2nd in the overall championship standings. 

 

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