Source: Supplied.

An opening lap crash forced Australia’s Damian Cudlin out of the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday, in his second appearance for Team e-motion Iodaracing in place of the injured Alex de Angelis.

It was a difficult weekend of sorts for Cudlin on the private ART entry, qualifying on the ninth row in 25th position before his early exit from the dramatic race at Sepang.

“First, I want to apologise to the team for the mistake in the race,” Cudlin commented. “I made a very good start and noticed that the bike was working well with a full fuel tank. It was the first time I have used a full tank this weekend and it seemed to improve the balance of the bike.

“For this reason I had a good feeling and was able to follow the riders in front – West, Di Meglio, Elias, etc – for the first time all weekend. Unfortunately I was a little too ambitious and I lost the rear coming onto the back straight. Unfortunately, our race was over very early.

“Of course I am disappointed, as I had hoped for more in the race, but I also had to push myself to the limit – this is MotoGP and sometimes we have to take risks. Anyway I want to take the opportunity to thank the team and mechanics for all their tireless effort this weekend. Although it was a struggle, it has been a real pleasure to work with the Team e-motion Iodaracing again.”

It’s not confirmed whether Cudlin will continue for the team at Valencia’s final round of the world championship early next month.