Damian Cudlin leads the German Supersport Championship.

Australia’s Damian Cudlin has consolidated his IDM Supersport Championship lead with a double podium finish at Oscherseleben in Germany on the weekend.

After a dominant win at the opening round in Lausitzring, Cudlin headed into Oschersleben with high expectations however the weekend proved tougher for the Team MRC rider as mixed weather conditions played havoc on the IDM competitors.

Whilst challenging for pole position in the opening wet qualifying session, Cudlin suffered a hard fall in the slippery conditions. While the team worked frantically to repair the machine for the second qualifier, a battered and bruised Cudlin managed to secure 5th position on the grid.

With no let up from the rain in freezing conditions, Cudlin rode a steady race in the opening leg, settling for third after a series of frightening moments.

“This race was one of survival today,” Cudlin explained about the race which saw over 20 riders fail to finish. “I moved into second position but could see from early on in the race that I wouldn’t be able to fight for the win today. I had a few scary moments like the one that caught me out in qualifying and I decided to play it safe and bring it home.”

The weather improved for Sunday’s second race, and having set a blinding pace in the dry conditions on Friday, Cudlin was confident of getting back to winning ways.

However, unable to lap at the same pace he’d shown earlier in the week, Cudlin was forced to settle for second position and another podium finish.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t get the win today as I really thought we had the package to do it,” Cudlin continued. “Once I moved into second I tried to chase Michi down but I had a big problem with the front tyre and I wasn’t able to go as fast as I’d been previously. Michi rode a great race regardless, but I think this was one that got away from us today.”

Despite the set back in the race, Cudlin’s string of three podium finishes in as many races has kept him at the top of the title chase as the series heads to Nurburgring in two weeks time.

Cudlin will now turn his attention to the next round of the World Endurance Championship at Albacete in Spain this weekend, where he hopes to advance from eighth in the world championship standings with his BMP Elf Honda Team.

In the Superbike class, fellow Aussie Karl Muggeridge finished with ninth in race one and third in the second leg, maintaining his series lead.

“Made a good start but got boxed in in the first corner, so I was unable to make the positions like I did in the first race,” Muggeridge explained after race two. “The bike worked so much better in the second race we can for sure improve the rear suspension quite a bit this would have made it possible to catch Jürg Teuchert.

“Anyway I was happy with the work and progress we made considering the problems we had yesterday and this morning. We learnt a lot this weekend and this will for sure help us in the up and coming races.”