America? Australia? Austria?...

It's all been a bit quiet over Christmas, so here are some updates on Damo Cudlin, Wokka Nowland and Yamaha Austria...

Cudlin to AMA?

Phase One's Damian Cudlin took the lap record at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) last month. Riding for the Evan Steel Performance team, he won the opening SBK race and took second place in the restarted SBK race 2. Cudlin went on to win the third, feature, race despite a poor start and having to fight through the field from mid-pack after running onto the dirt on the first lap. He also set a new lap record in the process.

"That was a great way to end a weekend which overall was pretty challenging. Evan, Phil and Dave all worked their butts off getting the changes done to the bike that I needed and I think we did a good job in the time that we had. I want to thank them for giving me the chance to show them what I can do. It was nice to break the lap record, but if I come back again it'll be going lower than that."

Damo is now understood to be considering his options for an attack on the 2009 AMA series.

Nowland to Stay in World Endurance

Maco Moto's Warwick Nowland has confirmed that he will ride in this year's World Endurance Championship. With the announcement that factory teams will not compete in all rounds of the championship this year, he is confident that he can secure his third World Championship in 2009.

“2008 was a very hectic year for me. I split my time between racing and a number of projects that included managing a team in BSB and expert commentary for various media outlets. Unfortunately, my racing season ended early with a broken wrist in October. I had returned to Australia to prepare for the final race and had gained more strength than I had all year. Since then, I’ve healed and am getting back to my old self.