New Zealand Moto3 rider Cormac Buchanan of BOE Motorsports. Photo: NOUSHAD THEKKAYIL / AFP
Southland motorcyclist Cormac Buchanan has set himself a lofty goal for the second half of the MotoGP season.
The 18-year-old is in his rookie season in Moto3, the entry level to the motorbike world championship.
Buchanan sits 19th in the single-cylinder 250cc category with three top ten finishes to his name after 12 rounds.
He didn't have the opportunity to relax during the four week summer break as he was recovering from a crash at the last round in the Czech Republic which left him needing stitches in a deep knee cut.
However, Buchanan admits the injury couldn't have come at a better time.
"I was lucky that I had three weeks to recover," he told RNZ.
"It's obviously not the way I wanted to go into the summer break but we're carrying good momentum.
"Even though I missed one race weekend, I can still take the good feelings on the motorcycle and the good form can carry on to the second half of the season."
The Barcelona-based rider said he's still not a hundred percent but doesn't expect the injury to affect his racing.
At the round before Brno, Buchanan recorded his best finish, a ninth in Germany, admitting that he had now come to terms with the tactics needed in Moto3.
"It has only been in the last few rounds that I've learnt how to ride fast on my own in qualifying and not relying just on slipstreaming other riders."
New Zealand motorcycle racer Cormac Buchanan. Photo: supplied / Manu Tormo
Before that consistency was an issue for him.
"Honestly coming into the year I didn't know what to expect and I think it has gone better than I was expecting.
"The first few rounds were difficult as I wasn't fully comfortable on the bike but with more laps I've got more confident.
"To be in the top ten in three races and Q2 multiple times, that's where I wanted to be by half way through the season."
Buchanan is in his first year in MotoGP and has only been racing for six years compared to many Europeans who have been riding since they were toddlers.
But he has big ambitions for the second half of the season.
"Instead of being there in the front group I now want to be in the front of that front group fighting for the podium.
"I think it's a real possibility as we've got some tracks coming up that I've been to."
New Zealand rider Cormac Buchanan of BOE Motorsports racing Moto3, 2025. Photo: DAX IMAGES / AFP
Buchanan is realistic that it is going to take time and that he needs to be patient.
"After the first few races I realised how high the level is in the world championship and I need to think of it more as a two or three year project.
"Not expecting too much too soon is a big part of it.
"I think I'm doing enough as a rookie to get a ride for next season."
The MotoGP Championship heads to Austria this weekend.
Buchanan will turn 19 during the Hungary MotoGP at the end of August.
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