Cormac Buchanan scored his maiden Honda British Talent Cup podium in the second round at Knockhill over the weekend.
The Southland teenager fell agonisingly shy of the rostrum in race one of the weekend, finishing 0.021s behind third place.
It was a ding-dong battle among the front runners, with a determined Buchanan losing out on third on the short dash from the final corner to the chequered flag.
Then, in race two, Buchanan was embroiled in a heated fight with Johnny Garness, the same rider who stole his podium chance in race one.
With race winner Evan Belford bolting away from the field, Buchanan’s tussle with Garness became the feature act.
Harrison Crosby bowed out of the battle when he crashed, leaving Buchanan with one less rival to cover as he duly clinched P3.
“It felt unreal to finally step onto the podium and celebrate a hard-fought race,” Buchanan said.
“This round was a special one for me as it’s the first time I’ve been to Scotland where my great-great-grandfather hailed from. Very proud to represent Clan Buchanan out there.”
Buchanan is now fifth in the championship standings after two rounds with his next British Talent Cup meeting at Brand Hatch in two weeks.
Two other Kiwis were in action over the weekend, with Damon Rees and Shane Richardson competing in the National Superstock series.
Rees had a solid opening race, picking off riders ahead of him as he worked his way from 21st to 14th at the finish.
Emphasising the competitiveness of the championship, Rees’ best lap in qualifying was eight-tenths off pole. Yet he still ended up starting 21st.
Race two began as he meant to continue for Rees, as he found his grove and flirted with the fringe of the top ten.
Unfortunately, Rees suffered a high-side on lap 11.
While he managed to stay on his bike, the airbag in Rees’ suit went off, and he sunk back to 30th.
A determined Rees would eventually muscle his way back to 20th at the chequered flag but was left disappointed after letting a strong result slip from his grasp.
“I was gutted as if I didn’t have the mistake, a top 10 could have been on the cards,” Rees said.
“But that’s racing and it doesn’t always go your way.”
A loose chain ruined Richardson’s start to the weekend, leading him to retire on lap 8.
Race two witnessed Richardson climb back from 22nd to finish 16th.