The Southland Motorcycle Club clinched a haul of trophies at the Motorcycling New Zealand Awards in Wellington last night.
Its dedicated efforts in delivering the annual Burt Munro Challenge earned the Club of the Year title, while motorcycle racer Cormac Buchanan secured both the Best Up and Coming Road Rider and coveted Male Rider of the Year awards. Motocross rider Jack Symon was named as a finalist.
“It was proud night for the club and fantastic to see everyone’s hard work recognised,” president Bill Moffatt said.
“Like the majority of sporting clubs throughout New Zealand, ours is run by passionate volunteers and this award is a credit to them and the countless hours each puts in so our riders can do what they love.
“Cormac and Jack are both incredibly talented racers who represent our club in their respective disciplines with a high degree of professionalism and we are naturally proud of their latest achievements.”
First staged in 2006, the Burt Munro Challenge has established itself as the largest motorcycle rally in the southern hemisphere. Last year, a round of the New Zealand Superbike Championship (NZSBK) was incorporated into the mix, adding another element for the club to run successfully.
Buchanan, who is currently competing in the Moto3 World Championship, has acted as an ambassador for the Burt Munro Challenge for the past six years.
“Regardless of where I’m racing around the world, I just have to glance down at that Burt Munro logo on my leathers for a little piece of home so it’s amazing to have their support throughout this journey,” Buchanan said.
“The Southland club has played a massive part in my racing – they were the first to encourage me onto the track and have been right behind me ever since. I’m an incredibly proud Southlander.”
Buchanan’s two awards are testament to his breakthrough year in 2024 where he successfully defended the 600 SuperSport Championship title at NZSBK before returning to Europe where he claimed three podiums and a pole position at the FIM JuniorGP world championship, ultimately earning him a Moto3 contract.
“It’s a massive honour to win both of these awards. When you look on the Male Rider of the Year trophy and see your name now engraved beside riders like Jake Lewis and Shane Richardson, it is really humbling. I’ve been lucky enough to learn from both of them, not only as a racer but as a person,” he said,
“While Shane is no longer with us after the tragic accident at Oulton Park a few weeks ago, the influence people of his calibre have on you really does continue to have an impact throughout your life.
“We managed to achieve some excellent results in 2024, nationally and internationally. One of the highlights was definitely winning the 600 championship at home at Teretonga during the Burt – it doesn’t get much better than that. We then carried that momentum into our European racing which turned out to be a huge season.”
Racing at Silverstone in the UK this weekend as part of MotoGP, Buchanan is seven rounds into the 22-race Moto3 world championship which will see him tackle circuits in 18 countries during a 9-month campaign.
