"Political and diplomatic reasons" - He'll be back with YART at Qatar

More information on Damian Cudlin's decision to ride for Kawasaki at next weekend's Bol d'Or has emerged.

Apparently Cudlin chose to be Yamaha Austria's reserve rider for the prestigious French event due to "political and diplomatic reasons" which allowed a now recovered Scarnato to race at his home event alongside Igor Jerman and Steve Martin.

An opportunity arose for Damian soon afterwards, with an offer to ride one of only four official factory bikes in the race, the Team Kawasaki France ZX10R. He says it was an offer too good to refuse.

"It's only been because of some strange circumstances that this has all come about, but I'm glad I've been given this opportunity. Obviously I was planning on racing for YART in the first place, but after a change of plans I was looking at being on the bench. Mandy knows how important it is for me to race, so he fully understood my position when I called him about the TKF ride. I want to personally thank him for letting me do this with Kawasaki, and I want to make it clear I intend to do my best for YART in the final round of the World Endurance Championship in Qatar.

"I'm really looking forward to throwing my leg over the ZX10R and working with the TKF squad. They've been a real force in this year's World Endurance Championship and are currently one place ahead of us in the series, so I know too well they've got what it takes to get the results. It'll be up to me to see if I can get comfy on the bike fast enough to challenge the leaders at the Bol'Dor. I'm looking forward to the challenge."