New Zealand Moto3 rider Cormac Buchanan, racing for BOE Motorsports, experienced a challenging race at the Circuito de Jerez over the weekend, finishing 19th after an early crash disrupted his promising start.
For the third consecutive round, Buchanan earned a place in the highly competitive Q2 session, advancing with a strong third-place finish in Q1. He then secured 17th on the grid for the race.
Buchanan had made a strong race start, advancing to 11th place in the race’s early stages. However, he lost his bike’s front and rear end and crashed. Demonstrating determination, he remounted and continued racing despite significant damage to his KTM machine, including bent handlebars, a missing footpeg, and gravel lodged in the bike.
“Despite qualifying 17th, we were already knocking on the top 10 after just the first lap,” said Buchanan.
Although racing a damaged bike, Buchanan still recorded impressive lap times. Kiwi’s racers, especially Buchanan, don’t tend to give up easily.
Reflecting on the incident, Buchanan stated:
“There was no way I was prepared to have a DNF, so I just had to pick up the bike and get on with it – even with bent handlebars, a missing footpeg and about 10kg of gravel stuck in it. We managed to maintain a fast pace even with the bike in very bad shape so we can hold our heads high.
“You never lose – you either win or you learn. As hard as it feels at the moment, I know these challenges are all shaping me into a stronger racer. The important thing is to respect the lessons I’m being taught.
“I feel all the ingredients are there to make great results; I just need to put them together and get the recipe nailed. We showed our pace is in the top 10 fight again, but I want to make it concrete by getting the points.
“Le Mans is a track I have really enjoyed in the past, and I’m excited to experience it on the Moto3. I am doing everything I can to arrive as prepared as possible. It has been a difficult weekend with the injury from Qatar becoming more apparent while riding. It’s a really awkward injury with friction burns where I grip the handlebar but we are managing the situation as best we can.
“Days like this are part of the process; it’s important to accept these things happen and to take the positives out of these moments; we use these to learn and to fuel the motivation for the next race coming up.”
This marks the second consecutive race in which Buchanan’s performance has been hindered by a crash.
In the previous round in Qatar, he had climbed from 16th to 8th before an off-throttle high-side crash ended his race.
Despite these setbacks, Buchanan’s resilience and pace indicate a promising trajectory in his rookie Moto3 season. He continues to gain valuable experience and remains focused on future races.
Moto3 action returns to Le Mans, France, from May 9–11.
Header Image: Dast Media
