Vegemite, pineapple lumps and a classic New Zealand pie.

These are some of the things Cormac Buchanan misses most as he continues to chase his dream of MotoGP glory in Europe.

“And Mum,” he says.

“I better not forget Mum.”

There are a heap of sacrifices that Cormac is prepared to make as he learns his trade on tracks across Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Over the past four years the 17-year-old has led a unique twin existence - in most respects he’s a classic Kiwi kid, albeit one capable of riding a motorbike with the deftness of a ballet dancer and the fearlessness of a bullfighter.

He’s spent the best part of his teens based in Europe for 10 months of the year - his second home has almost become his first.

There are the stolen hours at the very start or very end of the day when he Facetimes his girlfriend, family or friends back in New Zealand for bleary-eyed catch ups.

There is the language barrier. Cormac’s Spanish has become serviceable over the past few years and he can make himself understood in the pits where it matters most, but even listening to race commentaries on TV can still be bewildering.

There’s no Spanish word for kiwi, so Cormac’s racing nickname, the Crazy Kiwi, actually translates as the delightful Pollo Loco - Crazy Chicken.

Imagine his delight when he and an Australian rider found an Aussie/Kiwi coffee shop in Majorca which sold things like Vegemite and Tim Tams.

And there was an amusing - in hindsight - incident in a hair salon where the owner mistook Cormac’s request for blonde colouring for grey.

Once he was upright and the foils were removed he saw an old man looking back at him, which left him with a decision about whether to go with a head of grey locks for a while or spend another couple of painful hours having his head re-bleached. Fashion won.

Then there’s the heat. Temperatures north of 30degC in helmets and race suits with only limited air flow add another layer to the physical demands of a 35min race at blistering speed. For someone who grew up racing on the Sandy Point speedway and Teretonga’s cold concrete, it’s quite the culture change.

But make no mistake, these are not complaints. Even as Cormac settles back into an all-to-brief summer at home his mind easily wanders to thoughts of his old bike sitting in lonely storage back in Spain and his racing crew as they ski and snowboard their way through a European winter.

Relaxing after a gym session in the SBS Bank Academy Southland’s Mike Piper Training Centre with strength and conditioning coach Josie Frew, Cormac can pinpoint perhaps the most challenging aspect of his double life. 

“It’s the jet lag, for sure. I always find coming back is worse, it probably takes me two weeks to get used to it whereas going the other way it only takes a few days.”

Days and weeks are important for Cormac because he knows he’s in a race against time if he wants to reach the highest levels of motorsport.

Many of his counterparts began racing road bikes when he was starting primary school. The competition to get a wildcard place on the starting grid at senior level - a goal for next year - is intense and ultimately the motorbike racing world is so cutthroat that winning is the most important - perhaps the only - metric.

Along with good Italian pizza, Cormac misses the racing when he is offseason.

“Everywhere you go there is a motorbike track to ride on, whereas in New Zealand it is limited. In saying that, you can’t really ride the bigger tracks there whereas I have access Teretonga whenever I want. I miss my mechanics, my race bike, I miss the hills when it comes to cycling.”

His schooling at James Hargest, completed mainly at distance, is finished. The focus next year will be solely on training and racing.

And there will be another change in 2024 as he lines up for his second full season with Spanish team AGR Racing in the FIM JuniorGP World Championships - Mum is replacing Dad in the overseas crew, with Cormac taking over the driving duties.

The dream is alive. The mission continues. The Crazy Kiwi’s bid to be the next New Zealander in MotoGP is flying.

Article added: Wednesday 20 December 2023