Kiwi teen bucks the trend in tough Moto3 world championships

Cormac Buchanan has a highest placing of tenth in Moto3.

Kiwi teen Cormac Buchanan is getting up to speed in his rookie FIM Moto3 season, with the evolution more mental than physical.

The Moto3 world championships are probably the most cut-throat of the three classes (MotoGP and Moto2 the others). With up to 30 riders at each round, it has the biggest fields and is packed full of the hungriest junior motorcycle racers in the world.

Buchanan is the first New Zealander in almost 25 years to contest a full FIM MotoGP world championship season and he’s well aware of the daunting challenge.

“It’s probably the hardest racing to wrap your head around when you first get into it,” Buchanan said.

“Because the races are longer than previous championships, you have to think more about stuff like trying to save your tyres.

“The starts are always crazy, with everyone trying to get into the right position. It settles a little during the middle part of the race and then it all goes crazy again over the last six laps.

“Race IQ is a big part of this class, unlike some of the more junior categories, where it’s just crazy the whole race. There’s a lot more thinking going on and you can tell who the guys are using their brains, and they are the ones finishing races.

“Moto3 racing is about finding a balance of being calm and then when to know to go a bit crazy and move up through the pack.”

Buchanan’s results in the FIM JuniorGP world championship in Europe earned him a deal with BOE Motorsports to contest the full Moto3 season: 22 races in 18 countries.

After the opening four rounds in Thailand, Argentina, the United States and Qatar, the 18-year-old raced in Spain last weekend. The next round is in France on May 12.

“It’s been a really good start to the season, especially considering the first four races were all on new tracks for me. I used the first races as learning and gaining experience, and now I’m heading to tracks I know, I’m looking to improve even more.

“We don’t have too much track time before the races, so being at tracks I’ve been on before will mean I don’t have to rush to get to know the track.”

Buchanan is 20th overall on nine championship points. Jose Antonio Rueda leads on 91 points, with fellow Spaniard Angel Piqueras second on 87, followed by Australian Joel Kelso third on 57.

The Kiwi’s best result was 10th at the Grand Prix of the Americas and he is encouraged with his development before crashing in Qatar.

“I improved at each race and my top 10 finish in America on probably the hardest track on the calendar was unexpected but really welcome.

“I knew the race would be chaotic and the goal has been to finish each race. To be in the top 10 at a track like that was a bit of a shock. I got to Q2 for the first time, which was a big tick.

“Then at the next race in Qatar, I was fighting for sixth place in only my fourth race in Moto3 [before crashing].”

Buchanan and his BOE Motorsports team would love podiums in his rookie year but the primary goal is steady improvement before mounting a title challenge in 2026.