- Cormac Buchanan scored his first Moto3 World Championship points of the 2026 season with 14th place in Hungary.
- The Kiwi fought back strongly after an early tyre gamble and was battling for the top 10 when a red flag ended the race.
- Buchanan now heads to Brno with growing confidence after what he described as his strongest and most consistent weekend of the year.
Cormac Buchanan secured his first Moto3 World Championship points of 2026 in Hungary, but the Kiwi believes a top-10 finish was within reach before a late-race red flag halted proceedings.
New Zealand Moto3 rider Cormac Buchanan has finally opened his points account for the 2026 Moto3 World Championship after a strong performance at Hungary’s Balaton Park circuit.
The Southland teenager crossed the line in 14th place after a red-flagged race brought proceedings to an early end, securing his first world championship points of the season and continuing the encouraging form he showed at Mugello a fortnight earlier.
While the result may not immediately grab headlines, Buchanan left Hungary convinced there was far more on offer.
Starting from a season-best qualifying position of 14th, the CODE Motorsports rider made a lightning start and quickly worked his way into the top 10 battle. However, a gamble on a medium rear tyre, which he hadn’t tested during the weekend, initially worked against him as he struggled to find the same pace he had shown throughout practice and qualifying.
As the race progressed, Buchanan’s fortunes began to change.
The Kiwi steadily reeled in the riders ahead and was setting some of his fastest laps in the closing stages of the 20-lap contest. By the final laps he had caught the leading battle for the top 10 and was making passes when a serious four-rider incident brought out the red flag. Under MotoGP regulations, the result was taken from the previous lap, dropping Buchanan back to 14th despite having worked his way into the top 10 fight.
“It was good to be back fighting in that top 10 group and the pace we showed was strong,” Buchanan said.
“It was a weekend of personal bests for the season as a whole … now I want more.”
The result caps what Buchanan described as his most consistent weekend of the season.
The 18-year-old and his team spent the weekend focused on building pace without relying on slipstreams or towing from rival riders, something that paid dividends during practice. Buchanan improved his lap time by around a second between Friday and Saturday and progressed through Q1 despite a qualifying crash that left him riding with a bent handlebar.
Although frustrated not to finish higher, Buchanan believes his pace in the final third of the race showed he was capable of much more.
“From lap 13 onwards I guess you could say it was go-time,” he said.
“I actually did my best personal lap time on lap 17 of 19 so there was definitely no issue with the late race pace.
“If I was able to hang on in those first laps to the group I was with, a top six was definitely on the cards today because I was matching the podium group for pace at the end.”
The points finish provides a welcome boost after a difficult opening half of the season that has included injuries and setbacks, and Buchanan admitted finally scoring points felt like a weight had been lifted.
“It feels a little bit like a monkey off my back,” he said.
“The first ones are ticked off and now we can keep fighting for the bigger ones and the better points positions in the races.”
Attention now turns to Brno in the Czech Republic, a circuit where Buchanan showed promise last season before a knee injury cut his weekend short.
With points finally on the board and confidence building, the young Kiwi heads into the next round believing there is much more to come.
