The Southland Motorcycle Club has received top honours at the Motorcycling New Zealand Awards held in Wellington, celebrating a standout year both on and off the track.

The club took home the Club of the Year award, recognising the ongoing success of the Burt Munro Challenge – the largest motorcycle rally in the southern hemisphere. The 2023 event included a round of the New Zealand Superbike Championship (NZSBK), adding to its prestige.

Club president Bill Moffatt said, “It was proud night for the club and fantastic to see everyone’s hard work recognised. 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.”

One of the club’s top young racers, Cormac Buchanan, took centre stage with a double win – named both Best Up and Coming Road Rider and Male Rider of the Year.

“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,” said Moffatt.

Buchanan, currently racing in the Moto3 World Championship, has served as an ambassador for the Burt Munro Challenge for six years. He credited the club for launching his career and continues to carry the club’s logo with pride.

“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.”

His 2024 season included defending his 600 SuperSport Championship title at NZSBK and earning podium finishes and a pole position in the FIM JuniorGP world championship in Europe, which ultimately led to 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.”

Buchanan continues his campaign in the Moto3 World Championship, racing at Silverstone in the UK this weekend. The season includes 22 races across 18 countries over nine months.

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