Buchanan walks away from 245kmh crash
Southland rider Cormac Buchanan escaped serious injury after crashing at 245kmh in the latest round of the Moto3 World Championship.
A high-speed crash when his front wheel was taken out denied Buchanan the chance of a strong finish in round 10 of the championship in the Netherlands.
He was in a points-scoring position when his wheel was hit by the bike of Nicola Carraro on lap 13, sending both crashing on the fastest corner of the Assen circuit.
Fortunately, they escaped serious injury.
"It's a real shame because the pace and potential was there for a decent finish," Buchanan said.
"After a disappointing qualifying, we were making another great comeback, battling from 22nd to join the leading group after a decent start.
"I felt quite strong, even when the tyre started to drop a little, lapping faster than I have all weekend."
When the group split in two, Buchanan was determined to bridge the 2sec gap to the leaders.
"Unfortunately, at corner 15, the fastest place on the circuit, I had my front wheel swiped out from underneath me by a rider trying to overtake me, and crashed at 245kmh — for sure, one of the fastest crashes of my career.
"I'm glad to walk away with only minor injuries.
"Naturally I'm quite upset as, in my opinion, this overtake wasn't correct, and extremely unnecessary and dangerous. However, racing can go like this sometimes."
Buchanan, 18, arrived at Assen with ambition and determination. He started strongly on a wet track, achieving a promising P4 in FP1, under difficult conditions.
However, as the Assen layout dried out, finding rhythm was more difficult. and he did not directly advance to Q2.
Buchanan's next assignment is the Grand Prix of Germany from July 11-13.
— APL
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