Danny Buchan heads into this weekend’s fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park confident of fighting to add to his tally of four podium finishes so far in his 2021 title campaign.
The SYNETIQ BMW rider currently holds fourth place in the overall standings and is equal in the all-important Podium Points tally with Tarran Mackenzie ahead of him, with the next three races coming up this weekend.
“The biggest thing so far this season is that we have been consistently up the front and we are in the title fight in only my fourth round with the SYNETIQ BMW team and the new BMW M 1000 RR,” said Buchan ahead of the weekend. “When you sign for a new team, you always expect it to take a few races to get yourself acclimatised and bedded in, so I didn’t really have any expectations on the opening rounds.
“I am not surprised with where we are at currently because the first time I jumped on the new bike I knew it was going to be good from the very start. The results we have had so far this season have backed that up; coming from the double at Knockhill and three fourth places at Brands Hatch, we were close again.”
Buchan has already been impressed by the strengths of the all-new BMW M 1000 RR after the opening races, and along with Tarran Mackenzie, consistency is paying off as the pair are the only two riders to have scored points in every race so far this season.
Buchan added to his podium tally last time out at Thruxton, pushing hard for second place in the final race of the weekend, which put him 11 points adrift of Mackenzie in the standings.
“To be back on the podium at Thruxton was amazing,” added Buchan. “The biggest thing from the last round was keeping on with the Podium Points for the Showdown; we wanted to top them up. It’s a credit to the team, they have given me a good bike and we will continue to work hard to try and keep improving.
“We were getting faster as the weekend went on at Thruxton and the mixed conditions in the final race gave me a little bit more of an advantage. I could see the conditions were changing and it was a bit of an unknown as to who had gone on which tyre, and I really like those conditions.
“That was great to come away P2 as when we started the weekend it was a little bit more difficult as the weather kept changing, and we didn’t have a set-up for there, so we were putting the bike in different places to see what worked best, and we really got more of a direction after the first race. I have to thank the team, as they knew what would make me faster.”
Buchan is relishing the upcoming tracks on the calendar, with Cadwell Park just a few days after this weekend’s action at Donington Park, one of his highlights of the season. The Essex-based contender trails series leader Jason O'Halloran by 70 points, but knows what will count will be holding a top eight position ahead of the end of season Showdown, and bagging the crucial Podium Points.
“The tracks coming up are ones I am looking forward to massively too,” said Buchan. “I was a little bit unlucky at the Donington Park test earlier in the year, I didn’t really get many laps, so we might have to play a little bit more catch up at the start of the weekend, but I am not too fussed. The weather could change, but wet or dry we seem to have been fast so far.
“When you are in a championship fight you have to think of the longer game too, I know when it comes to the Showdown we wouldn’t be too far away with the Podium Points, he has a buffer at the moment but anything can happen. Motorbike racing is crazy and we are pushing every lap of every session, so we just need to be consistent and take as many points as we can to be in that title fight.
“We have been competitive with the new BMW M 1000 RR everywhere so far and the biggest test was from Knockhill to Brands Hatch. We have seen from our results, and Hicky too has been on the podium, so it shows how aggressive BMW are being in the way they want to succeed in the championship and it is great to be a part of that.
“I am confident we can be quick again this weekend; we know we can fight and that is a massive confidence booster for any rider, when you have that confidence, that is when the results come. The team are doing a fantastic job and we just need to keep bringing the results home again this weekend!"