- Kiwi Moto3 racer is recovering at home after shattering his right ankle at Aragon.
- Buchanan is back in the gym and aiming to ride again as rehabilitation progresses.
- The 20-year-old is targeting an Australian Grand Prix comeback on October 23–25.
Cormac Buchanan is aiming to return to the Moto3 World Championship at Phillip Island later this month, with the young Kiwi recovering in Invercargill after a crash at Aragon left him with a shattered right ankle.
Four weeks after the accident, the 20-year-old is back in the gym and planning to get on a bike again within days. Two metal plates and multiple screws now support the injured ankle, following surgery in Barcelona less than 24 hours after the crash.
Buchanan returned to New Zealand two weeks ago to begin an intensive rehabilitation programme, drawing on the support of the ILT Academy Southland team.
“The decision to come home was a no-brainer because here I can have a fantastic crew supporting me,” Buchanan said.
“If I had stayed in Spain, I would have been on my own trying to navigate the rehab as my team are all away racing given we’re only in the second half of the MotoGP calendar.”
Recovery ahead of expectations
Sportsmed Southern Physio director Andrew Mackintosh is leading Buchanan’s rehabilitation, supported by academy strength and conditioning coach Josie McKerchar and programme manager Jason McKenzie.
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For Buchanan, a graduate of the academy’s high performance programme, that support is helping him through the biggest injury setback of his career.
“It’s only been four weeks since the accident and I’ve been back in the gym for over a week now and plan to be on a bike again in the next few days so everything is tracking better than I expected,” he said.
“We’ve taken a determined approach while still being really smart about doing everything properly.”
Another setback in a tough season
The ankle injury followed an already difficult start to 2026. A crash in Brazil in March left Buchanan with fractured vertebrae and a torn ACL, forcing him to race through pain over the following months.
There have still been signs of his potential, including eight Q2 appearances across 13 rounds and points finishes in Hungary and Germany.
At Silverstone in August, Buchanan qualified eighth before a mechanical issue ended his hopes of converting that performance into a strong points finish.
He carried that pace into Aragon, running inside the top three during the weekend before his race ended on lap three.
“Suddenly I was flying through the air and landed flat on my right foot. The impact and sudden compression literally shattered my ankle,” he said.
“It felt particularly cruel because we finally had some really great momentum going in the previous few rounds and everything was building nicely for a strong second half of the season.”
Phillip Island in his sights
Buchanan is now working towards rejoining CODE Motorsport at the Australian Grand Prix on October 23–25, with the aim of contesting the final five rounds.
The prospect of racing in front of Kiwi supporters at Phillip Island has provided motivation since the day of his surgery.
“I targeted that race from my hospital bed because it’s my almost-home GP with a lot of Kiwis venturing over in support,” he said.
“And it was important to not rush the recovery process so this allowed me a realistic timeline to work within.”
Source: Cormac Buchanan media release.
Images: Manu Tormo / Michael Wincott Photography
