Cormac Buchanan: From the Deep South of NZ to the World Stage

The 2025 season has brought many new faces into the MotoGP paddock, and one of the most interesting ones is the first rider from New Zealand in a long time to join the field: Cormac Buchanan, racing in the Moto3 World Championship with the DENSSI Racing - BOE team.

Born in 2006, Buchanan started his racing career in speedway first, but then fell in love with road racing and since then he made huge steps, until where currently stands. The Kiwi rider has definitely proved to be a talented one: wins and titles in New Zealand and Australia, constant progress and a number of top 10 finishes in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup from 2021 to 2023, and podium finishes in the JuniorGP in 2024. This successful path that has led him to the Moto3 World Championship in 2025. And the rookie campaign of "Mac Attack" is not going bad at all: apart from a few setbacks (like a few crashes and the injury that ruled him out of the Czech GP in Brno), Buchanan has scored points in many races and also a few top 10 finishes, as he ranked 10th at Austin and Motorland Aragon and 9th at Sachsenring. There is room for improvement, but the foundations are there to continue growing.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the chance and honour to interview Cormac Buchanan and talk about his 2025 campaign, his career and what it feels like to be a strong representative of New Zealand. The result was a lovely chat, and definitely one of the best interviews I have ever experienced so far...

Cormac, how is your first season in the World Championship going?

I think this season has exceeded my expectations. As a rookie, you need to come in not with low expectations, because you have to believe in yourself, but with patience and the mindset that things take time. It’s been a good season so far. The team has been really good in letting me develop and learn everything at my own speed. From the first test in Portimão to now, the improvement has been huge. For me, this season is about learning and experiencing everything: the new tracks, the new competition, all of it. It’s going well.  

And what's been your best race so far, in your opinion?

For me, the best race was Aragon. We had a great qualifiying, starting 13th, and the race began quite nicely. It was the race where I used my head the most. I saved the tyre a lot in the beginning, which is difficult in Moto3, and then in the last laps I was one to one and a half seconds faster than the leaders. To finish in the front group, less than two seconds from first, was not what I expected for only my ninth race of the season. Races where you need to be intelligent and patient are the hardest, but I managed the tyres really well, which surprised me. That was my second top ten of the season (then he also finished 9th at Sachsenring, ed), and a special moment. It was also the first weekend both my teammate Ruché (Moodley, ed) and I went directly to Q2, and both of us finished in the points. Aragon is a special track for me, as I had one of my first races in Junior GP there. It was a really fun weekend.

You said that you have already exceeded your expectations. What were you expecting at the beginning?

At the end of the first weekend in Thailand, it was really difficult just to be inside the top 20. I told myself: this is where I’m starting from, and if I can just get better and better as the season goes on, then I’ll be happy. Going from 22nd in qualifying in Thailand to now fighting occasionally inside the top 10 with the front group is already more than I expected. The improvement has come faster than I thought, especially on tracks where I don’t have much experience. For example at Austin, which was probably one of the hardest tracks, I still had one of my best weekends of the season. It’s partly experience, but also the way we’re working as a team. We’re finding our process, and that makes you faster on track.

And what's your goal for the remaining races of the 2025 season?

The same as the first half: to be in a better position than before, to stay consistent. We have some new tracks coming, and I’m looking forward to the new experiences. If I can make the step from the midfield to consistently fighting with the front group, not just in some races, but as a regular target, that would be the goal. I just want to put together a consistent run of good results and do the best job possible.

You came to Europe in 2021 for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and also did some races in the British Talent Cup, straight from New Zealand. Was it a big shock at first?

It was a really big reality check, probably the biggest of my whole career. That first season in Europe was the hardest I’ve had. In New Zealand, I was winning almost every race, and then in Europe I was five seconds off the leaders. You have to learn how to lose, and that’s difficult. But it was also one of the most important years, because racing in such a competitive, high performance environment taught me a lot. The next year I came back stronger, and the year after, even better. My dad and I didn’t know anything about Europe at the time, but we made the most of every day and enjoyed it. Now it’s not easier, because the World Championship is much tougher, but at least I know better what I’m doing.  

What are your best memories from the Rookies Cup?

I spent three years there with many riders and made great friends. The last season was special, especially in Le Mans where I finished P5 on my father’s birthday. That was very special. Another memory, even though it wasn’t a good result, was Mugello in 2022. I was leading by eight seconds in the wet and then crashed. It was the first time I ever led a race in Europe, and I wasn’t prepared for it, but it was still unforgettable. Overall, those three years in the Rookies Cup developed me into the rider I am today.

In 2024 you focused only on Junior GP, and you had a good season.

2024 was the best season up to that point. It was also the first year I was with only my mother, since my father stayed in New Zealand. It was a memorable year, though stressful too, because I was fighting for a World Championship seat and I didn’t know what could happen. It also involved some sleepless nights. On track, it was great. My first podium (in Misano, ed) was special, then the next weekend I took pole position and another podium (in Estoril, ed).

We had a strong run of results, but also some difficult periods where I couldn’t fight for podiums. Still, we came back strong in the last round in Estoril, finishing second by less than half a tenth. That was probably my greatest memory, and a perfect way to say thank you and goodbye to AGR Team before moving to the World Championship. Doing it that year with my mom was also special, after having spent three years in Europe with my dad.

In 2025, your family is not with you. How has that been?

It's the complete opposite compared to the previous few years, as I’m living alone in Barcelona. My family has to stay in New Zealand, which is tough. My father came to a few races, but otherwise I’ve been on my own. Now I have my driver’s license and live like an adult, doing laundry, dishes, cooking etc.. It’s not easy. In a perfect world, my family would be here, but I’ve had to find my own way.

It’s been especially hard because it’s my rookie year in the World Championship. But my team, BOE, really feels like my family now. I come to the track and I’m with friends, my mechanics, people who understand how difficult it is not having my family here. That bond is crucial. They make me feel very welcome, and since I spend the whole year traveling with them to 22 races, they’ve become my Spanish family.  

You’ve become the first Kiwi rider to do a full season in the MotoGP paddock, after Simon Crafar. How does that feel?

It feels extremely special and at the same time a little bit lonely, because there is no other New Zealand rider here. Simon Crafar is race director, and there are some New Zealanders working in MotoGP, but I’m the only rider. So I make friends with the Australians, they’re the closest to home. I feel like I’m representing my country, but also making a pathway for the younger generation. The more New Zealanders we can have here, the better.

I want to show kids back home that even though New Zealand is far away and racing isn’t as strong there, it’s still possible to reach the World Championship and do a good job. Impossible is just a word. If you have determination and work hard enough, you can get here. It’s not easy, you have to sacrifice a lot, but I’m proud to represent my country. Being the only one is difficult, it’s a bit like not having my family here, but it’s also a special feeling to be the first in 25 years.

From all the years you spent in New Zealand, what are the best memories you have?

If I had my perfect world, I’d travel from the racetrack to New Zealand and back, because I love being there. In terms of racing, my last year in New Zealand, in 2023, was probably my favourite. I was racing on the 600cc Supersport bike and I knew it would be my last season there. I told myself I couldn’t keep racing in New Zealand because if I got injured, it would hurt my career at international level. So I made the most of it, not just at the track, but also with my friends and family at home. Even now, when I go back to New Zealand during the winter break, it feels the same as when I was five or six years old.

For me, spending time there is like a reset, as it takes you out of the high-pressure environment of the World Championship. Growing up there gave me so many memories. Racing in New Zealand had a family atmosphere. You’d finish a session, walk into someone else’s box, and talk for an hour. You can’t do that here, it’s different. I miss that part. The paddock here is like a family, but not in the same laid-back way as in New Zealand. Racing there was more relaxed and fun. I even got to race with my dad in that last year, which was really special. You can’t replicate that anywhere.

What was your best season in New Zealand and in Australia, as you raced as well in the Oceania Junior Cup?

In 2019 my first ever road race was actually in Australia, because I was too young to race in New Zealand. But the best season was my last year racing in New Zealand. From a riding perspective, it was my best year: I won every race, took every pole, broke lap records. But as soon as I came off the bike, I was back to having fun with my friends. That balance made it special.

Winning the 600 Championship at my home track, Teretonga, was unforgettable. It’s just 10 minutes from my house, and after years without racing there, it came back onto the calendar. As a kid, your dream might be to race in the World Championship, but as a New Zealander, your dream is to win a title at home. I won the championship in front of my school friends and people from my town, then went home and slept in my own bed that night. That was my favourite season in New Zealand for sure.

There is something curious about your origins. Would you like to share it?

The place I’m from is right at the very bottom of New Zealand and if you look on the map, Antarctica is quite close. The weather is crazy. Every time they race in my hometown, people say: "Don’t bring slick tyres, because it will rain". And it always does. So you get a lot of wet-weather practice there. Then you come here to the World Championship and ride in the wet, and it feels 10 times better because the tracks have so much grip.

It almost feels like you’re spoiled here, with such amazing bikes and tracks. Compared to New Zealand, it’s many steps ahead, but racing there prepared me well. I remember in Austin, Friday was full wet. I called my dad before going out and said: "It feels like we’re back home". Even in Germany, the weather is the same as New Zealand. If it’s wet, my family might as well move here because there’s no difference, just the language (smiles, ed).

In conclusion, how do you feel about the path you’ve gone through and the future?

Sometimes I have to stop and reflect, because I did my first road race in 2019, and now I’m in the World Championship. It’s been a really fast six years (he was previously racing in Junior Speedway, ed). To reach this level so quickly, you have to grow up fast and improve a lot. My second season was already in Europe, after just one year of racing. That was the hardest part, because the kids in Spain and Italy start very young, and I started at 12, so I was a bit behind. But those years were memorable, because suddenly I was a kid from New Zealand racing bikes as a job. That’s any kid’s dream. Thinking about the future is exciting. If I’ve achieved this much in six years, who knows what can happen in the next six? That keeps me motivated and makes me train harder every day. After my first race in Thailand, I thought: I never want to leave this place. This is where I want to spend the rest of my career. Hopefully I’ll still be here decades from now.

Palmen in Motorradsport thanks Cormac Buchanan for his time and Iñaki Pahissa (Team Coordinator at DENSSI Racing - BOE) for making the interview possible. Best wishes to both the rider and his team for the next races and seasons.