Two Aussies featured on the 8 Hours of Doha EWC podium.

Taree’s Damian Cudlin rode with his BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent to victory at the Qatar round of the 2012 Endurance World Championship over the weekend.

Starting from pole position for the third time in as many seasons at the Losail International Circuit the #99 BMW S1000RR, with Erwan Nigon at the controls, took the race lead on the opening lap.

Once out in front with a clear track ahead of him Nigon pushed hard to pull a gap on the field, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process, only to see his hard work negated when the safety car was deployed in response to an oil spill and the field closed back up once again.

Nigon took advantage of the safety car to pit in, refuel and handover to Sébastien Gimbert, who retook the race lead on lap 39 and was able to quickly re-establish a comfortable gap back to second place.

The number 99 BMW S 1000 RR led the race from this point on, with Nigon, Gimbert and Cudlin able to control things from the front, comfortably managing the gap on track while the team’s mechanics made short work of the pit stops.

Finishing what he’d started eight hours earlier, Nigon eventually took the chequered flag with a two-lap advantage at the front of the race, to give BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent and Michelin their first win of the 2012 season.

The victory in Qatar promotes BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent to fourth in the 2012 Endurance World Championship standings, just 19 points behind the series leaders with three rounds to go.

“Winning here in Qatar was a great result, not just in terms of the race, but also in terms of the championship, which is a lot closer than it was after the Bol d’Or,” Cudlin said. “Erwan and Sébastien rode good first stints to open up the gap at the front, which opened up even further when some of the other teams hit problems.

“From that point on we were able to control the race from the front of the race. With the BMW S1000RR and the Michelin tyres we definitely had the strongest package here, but that was also true the last two years when bad luck conspired against us. I have to admit, given our luck here in the past, I breathed a big sigh of relief when Erwan finally took the chequered flag tonight!”

Jason O’Halloran joined fellow Honda TT Legends stand-in riders Michael Laverty and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the podium, claiming third behind the second place Bolliger Kawasaki team.

In the top-five from the early stages, the Honda TT Legends climbed as high as second before settling into third position as the race progressed. A late charge from reigning World Champions SERT was repelled to cement a place on the podium.

“I just want to say thanks for asking me to come and ride this bike for such a great team,” O’Halloran said. “Kiyo and Michael both did a fantastic job and I think we really worked well as a team to achieve this result.

“The race went exactly as planned and with no real drama. I was actually expecting to feel more fatigued at the end but I still feel pretty fresh. It was such an honour to bring it over the line at the end and to give the team a podium.”

Anthony West’s QMMF Suzuki team was a solid fifth overall behind the world champion Suzuki Endurance Racing team, claiming top Superstock honours at the Losail Circuit.

Qatar domestic champion Alex Cudlin was eighth overall with the DG SPort Herock Yamaha squad, resulting in fourth Superstock finisher for the round.

Click here for detailed results