Mixed Emotions As Buchanan Concludes Rookie Moto3 Season

While the finale failed to meet his expectations, overall Cormac Buchanan’s rookie season in the Moto3 World Championship exceeded them in several aspects.

The Southland teenager described his 2025 season as “a rollercoaster” following yesterday’s final race in Valencia where he battled to make an impact.

“I expected highs and lows as we navigated this new championship against the best in the world. Naturally, I would have liked a few less of the lows but I accept those are what you learn the most from and will ultimately build me into a stronger racer,” he said.

“When I reflect overall there is a lot of things I can be really proud of. 20th in the championship from 40 riders is not bad, along with three top 10 finishes, points in nine races and a lot of Q2 appearances.

“Obviously without those DNFs it could have been a lot higher but for me I will take a lot of positives out of this year. We’ve been in the fight with the leaders in a number of races and even for podiums at some point.

“For me it’s been a really solid rookie season – one where I’ve learned a lot of lessons and I aim to build on those for next year to make another step forward in 2026.

“A massive thank you to everyone that’s supported me. It’s been tough at times. The knee injury at Brno in July really had an impact on my momentum and now these last few races have been really difficult – not sure why so we will have to look into that as part of our season debrief.

“Overall, it’s been an incredible year – one of the best in my life – and I’m looking forward to making next year even better.”

Valencia proved to be a disappointing end as Buchanan continued to battle through a slump in form.

“It was not the weekend we were hoping to end the season on. We tried to have good motivation and with it being the finale you want to end on a high,” he said.

“FP1 there was oil on the track and, with the bad luck I’ve been having lately, I hit that and crashed, injuring myself pretty badly. The bike came and hit me in the back so obviously that wasn’t an ideal start as I missed all the laps and then you’re automatically on the backfoot being a session behind.

“Friday afternoon we made a solid step just trying to get the laps under our belt. But Saturday and, to be honest, even Sunday was just so difficult. I just lacked that good feeling on the bike. It’s so frustrating because at times this year we’ve been really fast but on weekends like this we’re struggling so much.

“It was a tough one but no, I won’t let it take away from the season I’ve had.”