Invercargill-based Cormac Buchanan displayed all the talent he has been honing in Europe in the off-season, at the first round of the New Zealand Superbike Championship (NZSBK) at the weekend.

Buchanan, 16, shone in the Supersport 300 class - clean sweeping all three races at the Manfeild circuit for the Altherm Yamaha Racing Development Team (YRDT)

His debut on the more powerful Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Supersport 600 category also went positively.

Yamaha Motor New Zealand’s Motorsport Manager Josh Coppins says: "It was a pretty tough weekend for us and Cormac’s results were the highlight.

"It’s great to see him leading the Supersport 300 class by 16 points already."

Buchanan described the weekend as a whole, as positive.

"I felt good from the get-go, even in the sketchy wet conditions on both bikes," he says. "I wasn’t expecting to feel as confident as I did on the YZF-R6 straight away in the wet.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking riding a 120 horsepower, heavier bike around in wet conditions and I’m proud of how I handled it."

In the Supersport 300 qualifying session, Buchanan got himself into pole position.

"The first two races I had big battles with Jesse Stroud and we broke the lap record in both races, going 1.3 secs quicker than the previous Manfeild 300 times.

"That was a big check off my goal list for the weekend. I enjoyed having the big battles where we were getting very close and having contact a few times, which produced probably some of the best 300 racing at Manfeild in many years. It was good to be a part of that."

The Altherm Yamaha team made changes to Buchanan’s YZF-R3’s suspension for last race and "it worked liked a dream," he says.

"The bike was on rails and I was able to win by 7 seconds. It was my favourite victory in the 300 class and I’m feeling very positive going to Ruapuna in January off the back of that.

“I was happy with how I handled my Supersport 600 races and I learned lots. In the second race, I finished up only 0.2secs off the podium,” Buchanan concludes.

This season has four rounds left, with three races at each, with Christchurch next, then Teretonga Park Raceway, Invercargill, on 14 and 15 January, 2023.