Cormac Buchanan scored his first world championship points of the season in Hungary, finishing 14th after a red flag denied him a likely top-10 result.

The Southland teenager was closing fast on the leaders at Balaton Park when a four-rider crash halted the 20-lap Moto3 race with two laps remaining. Officials counted back to the previous lap, where Buchanan had crossed the line in 14th.

A poor tyre choice cost him early in the race, but his late surge suggested much better was possible.

"Overall, I'm satisfied. You would have to say that's the most consistent and best weekend of the season so far," Buchanan said.

"It's the first points of the season which is great, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not happy with the result. It's good to get points on the board but I want a lot more, especially with the pace I had in the latter part of the race."

Buchanan gambled on a medium rear tyre despite not testing it all weekend. The decision backfired early but paid dividends as the race wore on.

"I made an amazing start and went up to 9th and stayed around that top 10 for the first stages but I was just hanging on in all honesty – I just couldn't figure out the medium tyre and what it needed to work," he said.

From lap 13, everything changed. Buchanan found his rhythm and started carving through the field.

"From lap 13 onwards I guess you could say it was go-time. On used rubber I put on the pace I had been working on all weekend and focused on hauling in the gap in front which was three or four seconds."

He caught the group with two laps to go and was positioning for overtakes when the red flag appeared.

"Going into the last lap in corner 9 and 10 as I predicted the group bunched up a lot and I made several overtakes to be third in the group to sit in the top 10. Then you turn the next corner and there's a red flag so that obviously means it goes back to the lap before. Just one lap too late so I had to settle for 14th."

The result breaks a frustrating points drought that stretched back to last season's injury problems.

"It feels a little bit like a monkey off my back. The first ones are ticked off and now we can keep fighting for the bigger ones and the better points positions in the races," Buchanan said.

Next stop is Brno in the Czech Republic, where Buchanan suffered a knee injury last year that ended his weekend early.

"Brno is a track I really enjoyed last year, until I didn't. I feel like I have a score to settle with that track considering the events of last season so we're on the right path and it's important to keep this consistency and keep chipping away at the points, improving every race."

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