It’s a welcome return home of sorts for young Cormac Buchanan.
The budding Kiwi rider is less than a week out from completing his mandatory 14-day managed isolation in an Auckland hotel room.
He recently wrapped up his first season racing in Europe.
“Can’t wait to get back home and catch up with the family and see the dogs,” Buchanan said.
“I missed New Zealand a lot.”
It’s been a wild year for Buchanan.
The 15-year-old, who many are touting to be New Zealand’s next big star, became the country’s first Red Bull Rookies Cup rider this year.
He also split time in the UK riding in the Honda British Talent Cup.
Both campaigns had their share of incredible highs and bone-fracturing lows.
But reflecting on his time racing in the Northern Hemisphere, Buchanan is proud of how far he’s come.
“I’m excited to see what I can achieve now that I’m back in New Zealand after racing overseas,” he said.
“I’m definitely a better rider now.
“My race fitness is a lot better. Everything will be like a sprint race now.
“Riding in the UK against smaller guys meant it was harder to pass in the corners. Overtaking has not always been my biggest strength, so I’ve improved my aggression.
“Overall, I have improved a lot.”
Buchanan’s standout highlight of the year came in a Talent Cup race at Donington.
Starting 14th for a wet race, Buchanan cut his way up to fourth. But standing between him and the podium was a mammoth 19-second gap.
Putting his head down, Buchanan began lapping upwards of three seconds quicker than the leading trio.
With two laps remaining, he had overtaken both P3 and P2, finishing second and behind his teammate Casey O’Gorman.
“It was not only my best-ever race, but it was the most fun race I had ever done.”
Buchanan also got to tick off a personal goal with the result: standing on an elevated race podium.
“One of my dreams was to be on one of the big podiums that’s high in the air.
“It felt awesome standing 20 feet above everyone else.”
Europe is the powerhouse when it comes to producing world champion riders.
Spending half the year riding head-to-head with some of Europe’s best junior talents was a valuable learning opportunity for Buchanan.
“One of the big things in Europe is how close the gaps are. Everything matters.
“One small mistake and your lap is over. You could be riding in a group and one mistake drops you back half a second. That quickly becomes one second, then 1.5.
“I’ve learnt to be on the limit all the time while trying to make no errors.”
On paper, Buchanan’s Rookies Cup season doesn’t read too much. He finished 26th in the standings without a point.
However, the Southland teenager doesn’t rate his season based on points and results.
“One big worry was how’d we go this year. We didn’t want to be five or ten seconds behind everyone else.
“But we came close to points a lot. I was only 1.6s off pole in one race, but that was still only good enough for 21st.
“I’m happy with how I rode. The whole season was fun and I’m excited to go back and do better.”
That’s because, in September, Buchanan was selected for next season’s Red Bull Rookies Cup.
“Fighting for the top ten and getting points will be a good goal.
“Next season, we’ll be more prepared, and we know what we are going into.
“For now, it’s just about working hard.”
Buchanan is riding in the New Zealand Superbike SuperSport 300 series over the Kiwi summer before leaving for another European crusade early next year.
