Heart of the Nation: Phillip Island 3922

THERE'S a really nasty way to come off a motorcycle at high speed, and this is it.

Damian Cudlin

THERE'S a really nasty way to come off a motorcycle at high speed, says Damian Cudlin. It's called a "high-side" crash: while cornering, the rear tyre slides away for a moment before suddenly regaining grip, sending a violent shudder through the bike and "bucking you off like a rodeo bull".

Cudlin is pictured high-siding in a practice session before the Australian Grand Prix in 2011. "I had quite a bit of air-time before I hit the ground," he says breezily. What went through his mind? He laughs. "Mainly, 'This is going to hurt.'?"

And it did hurt: but worse than the pain of the broken hip was missing out on the race the next day. He was new to MotoGP (motorcycling's equivalent of Formula 1) after being drafted as a substitute; it was his chance to prove himself in the sport's top tier, and he'd blown it. "The biggest disappointment of my career," he calls it.

Cudlin, who grew up on a farm at Taree in NSW, was 10 years old when he saw Mick Doohan in action and thought, "That is what I want to do with my life." Now 30, he makes a living riding in endurance events, lately in Germany, where he's based with his wife Amy. He has never stopped yearning for another crack at MotoGP, though. "It's every rider's dream," he says. Nothing compares to the thrill of those 1000cc machines, which accelerate so hard it's "like sitting on top of a missile", often hitting 340km/h in the straights.

Now, some good news: a British MotoGP team has just offered Cudlin a trial. He's scheduled to be on the grid at Phillip Island for tomorrow's grand prix. It's a second chance. It's his home crowd. It's unfinished business.