Buchanan ‘super happy' with second top-10 finish
The Southland motorcycle racer clinched his second top-10 finish — just 1.7sec from the winner — yesterday to record his best performance of the season.
The undulating challenges of Spain's Motorland Aragon proved a happy hunting ground for the Kiwi teenager, confirming his evolution in the sport in partnership with the Denssi Boe Motorsports team.
"I'm really happy to finish in the front group and with the smart race I rode," Buchanan said.
"Obviously, a bit disappointing because there was a lot more potential than 10th there. But I guess to not be over the moon with 10th place just shows how much we've progressed.
"The weekend as a whole I was super happy with how we worked."
Securing his second top-10 finish in a race marked by high temperatures and the demanding degradation of the tyres, Buchanan managed each phase with intelligence.
Mid-race, when many began to struggle, Buchanan increased his pace, closing the distance with the head group until finally placing only 1.7sec from the Spanish winner, David Munoz.
Buchanan planned to ease into the race to not wear his tyres out early after watching others opening with gas.
" ... knew that would destroy the tyres before the end of the race".
His patience paid off.
"With about six laps to go, I saw that my tyres were good compared to the others around me so I knew that was my moment to go for it.
"I got to the front of the second group then just tried to do my own pace. I had been practising all weekend and was able to bridge quite a big gap to the lead group.
"I was in the front group with about four laps to go which was a pretty cool feeling to be there for the first time in the world championship.
"I made my way up to about sixth or seventh, but unfortunately a bit of contact bumped me back again. We could have fought for the podium so it was a bittersweet feeling."
Buchanan's performance was notable for his speed, racing at the same pace as the leaders and exceeding his classification time marked on Saturday.
He walked away feeling "very positive" about the weekend.
"We had a process that we wanted to work on which was focused on working alone without the slipstream or the reference to prepare for the race," he said.
"We were riding every single session, including the qualifying, thinking about yesterday's race and doing laps alone to make sure I improve and develop a good feeling by myself."
— Marc Marquez proved once again that he is the master of MotorLand as the Ducati rider won the Aragon Grand Prix from pole to extend his lead in the championship yesterday.
Marquez's brother, Alex, finished second for Gresini Racing while Marc's team-mate, Francesco Bagnaia, came third as Ducati bikes swept the podium.
Marc had completed the perfect weekend last year to win his first race in 1043 days at the same circuit, and he repeated his feat as the pole-sitter and sprint winner claimed a record-extending seventh MotoGP victory at the track.
Such was Marc's dominance he became the first rider in 10 years to lead every session — including warmups, practice and qualifying — since he did it himself at the German Grand Prix in 2015.
— APL/Reuters
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