MOTOR cycle racer Alex Cudlin of Taree will now enjoy a brief sabbatical before preparing for the next round of the World Endurance Championship to be contested in Europe in August.
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Cudlin is back home from Qatar where he clinched the Qatar Superbike Championship for a record fourth time.
A win in the opening race of the last round sealed the title win.
"I'm going to have a bit of a break now before I head to Europe in late July to get ready for the world endurance,'' Cudlin, 27, said yesterday.
Cudlin took a 26 point lead into the final round. A podium finish in the opening race should have been enough for him to claim the championship. However, he put the issue beyond doubt when he led from the first corner to the finish line to claim the flag.
"That gave me a 51 point lead - I didn't even have to go in the last race if I didn't want to,'' he said.
However, the last race of the championship was something of an anti-climax for Cudlin. He surged to the lead but a broken chain meant he recorded a no finish.
Cudlin said he plan was to win the opening race and seal the championship instead of racing conservatively and aiming for the podium.
"In hindsight that was the right thing to do because it could have been a different result after I didn't finish the last race,'' he said.
Cudlin hopes to claim a fifth championship in 2015 although details are yet to be finalised.
"I haven't signed anything yet,'' he said.
"But I'm 99 percent sure I'll be going back.
"I've won the championship four times now so I hope the team will want me back again.''
