Cormac Buchanan’s weekend at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was filled with promise and fierce battles, but it ended in heartbreak after a late crash brought his race to a premature close.
Qualifying:
Buchanan entered qualifying with work to do, having finished outside the top 20 in every practice session. In FP2, his team made significant adjustments to the bike in a bid to sharpen its performance ahead of qualifying.
In Q1, Buchanan shone as he secured 4th place with a time of 01:48.391, just 0.588 seconds behind Angel Piqueras in 1st.
“Q1 was very positive, I took another big step forward with my riding and could make a strong first flying lap on my second run, although I knew more was possible, and with a group in front of me, I could close them in and improve half a second, which was enough to pass into Q2,” said Buchanan
In Q2, Buchanan battled with track positioning and was left towards the back of the order in 18th, posting a best lap of 1:48.468. While his pace was almost identical to Q1, the gap to the front had grown, with David Almansa setting the benchmark more than 1.5 seconds quicker.
“In Q2, the feeling again was great, but I struggled to position myself well in the group, missing the slipstream down the main straight. Overall just didn’t put together a complete lap, even despite this we matched our Q1 lap and know there’s much more potential there.”
Grand Prix:
Buchanan’s race began with an early shuffle of positions, losing out to Marco Morelli, who stormed forward three spots on the opening lap to climb from 20th to 17th.
The opening laps were frenetic, with the tightly packed field trading places several times. By the end of the second lap, Morelli had slipped back to 18th, putting Buchanan back into his original grid slot of 17th.
On lap three, however, a minor issue dropped the Kiwi three positions to 20th. He regrouped quickly, latching onto the pack ahead and running just behind Marcos Uriarte in 19th. Two laps later, both Buchanan and Uriarte managed to slip past Morelli, reclaiming a place apiece.
Buchanan then locked into a fierce duel with Uriarte, running within a tenth of a second for three laps before finally pulling ahead to take 18th. Uriarte tried to strike back immediately, but Buchanan held firm.
Their fight opened the door for Morelli to rejoin the fray, briefly retaking both drivers before Buchanan muscled back past him to continue his charge.
Another setback followed as Buchanan was forced to relinquish four spots, tumbling to 22nd—his lowest position of the race.
The Kiwi’s luck then ran out completely on lap 10. A crash brought a premature end to his afternoon, marking his fourth consecutive DNF.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to end another race like this,” Buchanan admitted. “My team and I have been working so hard, and we deserve a decent result, but it’s just not coming together at the crucial times,” said Buchanan
No racer ever goes out there to crash, and this one really hurts because I feel like I’ve let the team down. I’m just so grateful for their belief in me as we work together to get my rookie season back on track.”
While Buchanan’s race ended in disappointment, the drama continued at the front. On the final lap, Ángel Piqueras snatched victory from Rueda, who had led for much of the contest.
Buchanan now sits 19th in the overall standings heading into next weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix—the final stop of the European leg before the championship shifts to Asia.
Header Image: Cormac Racing
