Buchanan banks solid points haul at “nearly home” GP

The Australia Grand Prix at Phillip Island was battered by inclement weather and hardy race fans were treated to plenty of action on track as a result of the challenges it presented riders.

Buchanan, 19, relished the chance to race close to home, banking an impressive 11th place.

“It was a special weekend being able to race in front of the local support. There were a lot of kiwi in the crowd with New Zealand flags and the whole weekend honestly felt quite unique. I was just riding the bike and enjoying the experience and the atmosphere,” he said.

“It was a really consistent weekend which is what I’ve been looking for. It still wasn’t the perfect race because obviously we had the pace to be in that front group but for the moment we’ll take it and look to do even better.

“They say if you don’t like the weather on Phillip Island, just wait 10 minutes and it will change again and that’s what it felt like. They were crazy conditions but I’m happy with how I adapted to that, especially in the race.”

Collaborating with SLGrafics, he sported a custom LS2 helmet for the occasion featuring a striking kiwi design by owner Sander Lam, along with a range of kiwiana icons painted by New Zealand-based artist Kate Garnyk.

“The big kiwi on the top was really cool, especially in the tuck because it looked like the kiwi was looking at you. The kiwiana icons were a really nostalgic addition and reminded me of home, along with the names of some special people on the back and my dog Ollie. I will treasure this one.”

Rain greeted racers for their opening track session on Friday and Buchanan took advantage to finish P6.

Buchanan banks solid points haul at “nearly home” GP-1.webp

“It was a chance to learn the track as I’ve only been to the island six years ago on a 150cc motorcycle so this was a whole new challenge on a Moto3.

“The goal was to make a good pace from the start to try and get a bit closer to the front and we achieved that, then on Saturday morning we managed to slice another half a second off and I knew I had a lot more pace in me but getting a clean lap with good positioning was the focus for qualifying.

“I managed to bank a solid lap early which was good enough to earn promotion into Q2. That session was difficult to find a good spot so I opted to go alone. Without the slipstream it wasn’t easy because you do gain a lot with that at this track. Alone I managed to take another half a second off my PB so I was satisfied but also frustrated in the sense another 0.2 seconds faster would have put me in the top 10 on the grid.”

For Sunday, all attention was focused on the weather. Forecasts predicted strong winds with gusts exceeding 70 km/h, a scenario that compromised the riders' safety. After a meeting of the Safety Commission, it was decided to delay all races by an hour, seeking a more stable weather window where conditions would be less dangerous.

“Race day was crazy with the wind. It made conditions really difficult for us as riders so the focus was just to move forward as much as possible,” Buchanan said.

Cormac maintained solid positions, engaging in an intense battle with numerous rivals.

“The opening laps were good – I managed to keep my nose clean and stick with the front group. Then I had a front end slide into Siberia. I dug my elbow into the ground and saved it – I knew I definitely didn’t want to crash out of this GP so I made sure I didn’t end up in the gravel but I did get separated.

“My goal was then to finish at the front of the next group. There was a lot of batting but I felt really in control of that – whenever I needed to pass someone I could do it. I was getting held up a lot so I played it smart and knew exactly where I wanted to do the move to get to the front of the pack so really just had to be patient until the last lap.

“I got bumped back to fifth so I had to do a lot of overtaking to get back to the point I knew I wanted to be heading into turn 10 so I could make my move and seal 11th place. The execution was textbook.”

“It’s great to get some more points on the board. It’s obviously been a long time since Germany when I got my last points so clearly it has been a really tough period. I’m happy and now we will use this as a springboard to take us into the last three rounds and use this momentum.

“We will reset and keep our feet on the ground for Malaysia this weekend.”

Buchanan now prepares for the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit in from October 24-26.

Ends.

Caption: Cormac Buchanan in action for the Denssi BOE Motorsports team in round 19 of the Moto3 World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia. Photo credit: Manu Tormo