Kiwi rider Cormac Buchanan collected his second British Talent Cup podium with a solid ride to finish third at Thruxton.
Buchanan was on fine form across the weekend, snatching second in qualifying and only marginally missing out on pole.
He then had his share of the leading the pack across the race as the front runners remained nose-to-tail for the entire affair.
Buchanan found himself on the final step of the rostrum and a measly two-tenths behind first and second at the chequered flag.
“Rapt to enjoy the view from the front for plenty of the race, leading across the line a few times but unfortunately not the one that mattered most,” he said.
Unfortunately, the second race of the weekend was cancelled because of heavy rain.
Another race is pencilled in for later in the season at Donington.
However, Buchanan will miss that round because it clashes with his Red Bull Rookies Cup calendar.
The young star is in Austria at the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the next round of the Red Bull Rookies Cup.
The weekend at Thruxton was a challenging one for Kiwi Superstock riders Damon Rees and Shane Richardson.
Rees was buried in a ten-bike fight over a 12th in race one and was making sound progress.
Unfortunately, he was forced off the track by a rival rider and dropped outside the top 20.
Rees recovered to snatch 20th at the end of the race.
He bounced back the following day to finish 15th in the final race and claim a championship point.
While this year hasn’t yielded similar results as his standout rookie season 12 months ago, Rees is confident that it is only up from here.
“We gave it our all this weekend,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone other than the teams and riders in Superstock 1000 truly understands how tough the class is this season.
“This isn’t an excuse, it just means we have to up our game more than ever.”
Shane Richardson finished race one in 24th and owed the position to a lack of confidence.
Changes to the bike between Saturday and Sunday meant he started race two with some newly found speed.
Unfortunately, Richardson began to struggle with the bike as the race wore on. He ended up finishing 21st.
“I can’t say a big enough thank you to the Astro JJR Team who are working tirelessly, giving me a bike that’s capable of fighting at the front, it’s just down to me to get it there now,” Richardson said.
The next round of the British Superbikes championship is at Donington Park on August 13-15.
Main Image: Camipix Photography
