Source: Damian-Cudlin.com.

Australia’s Damian Cudlin is poised to make a surprise return to the IDM Superbike Championship next week, joining the Weber-Diener Kawasaki Team alongside countryman Alex Phillis.

Cudlin will return to a happy hunting ground in the IDM series, riding a Dunlop-shod ZX-10R in the Superbike class.

The former IDM Supersport Champion was on track to claim the Superbike title last year after dominating the first three rounds, however a series of mechanical failures saw his title ambitions dashed before turning his attention towards MotoGP at the end of 2013.

“I’m really excited to be returning to the IDM series and I’m hoping I can get this season back on a track.” Cudlin explained. “I had a tough off-season last year and although I received various offers to race, none of them were competitive or realistic without self-sponsored funding.

“I chose to wait for a good offer to come up, but nothing came until now. I feel like this is an exciting prospect for me and I’m grateful to Emil Weber and Evren Bischoff for this opportunity.

“Honestly, I don’t expect to be at the front right away. The bike is completely new to me, I’ve had no testing at all, and the last time I raced was at the Valencia Grand Prix in November! Plus, all the top teams tested at Zolder last week, so we’ll definitely be playing catch up during the first weekend.

“My plan is to use the first race as a test session and build it up bit by bit. If we work well together I’m confident we’ll be competitive soon enough.”

The Weber-Diener Kawasaki Team fielded two entries in the opening round of the IDM championships last month, with Gabor Rizmayer in Superbike and Phillis in Superstock. Cudlin will replace Rizmayer in the Superbike category for the next three races – Zolder, Oschersleben and Nurburgring.

Cudlin will make his debut on the Weber-Diener Kawasaki at round two of the IDM Superbike Championship on 30 May-1 June, in Zolder, Belgium.