BSB: Danny Buchan announces retirement from motorcycle racing

Danny Buchan has announced his retirement from motorcycle racing following the conclusion of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season earlier this month.

The 31-year-old suffered multiple injuries across the last two seasons, notably suffering two head injuries during his 2023 campaign at Snetterton and Cadwell Park, and cited this as one of the main reasons behind his decision to retire.

“2024 will be my last season racing motorcycles,” Buchan told his followers across social media. “I am closing the curtain on my 25 year long career. My body is smashed and it wants/needs looking after, life is long after racing and I have so much to live for!! One day I will talk about it all, my journey, but for now I want to say thank you to everyone who helped me live out my boyhood dream.

“I mean being paid to race motorcycles, how cool is that? And I’ve been rewarded with a good life and base to start life after racing. I can’t begin to tell you how many life lessons I have learned along the way which will enable me to go on and be great in my next ventures, the people I have been lucky enough to meet and friends I have made for life who really have become family. I really mean it, I am grateful.

“Thank you to my family, who have sacrificed so much over the years to get to where I got to, it’s such a big effort by everyone and you won’t believe what people sacrifice in order for me to live out my dream – one example just so people are aware of what parents do, my dad’s business in the middle of a recession couldn’t pay his guys on time so the men were working 4/5 weeks before being paid, I was still racing. Why? Because we were all in! Thankfully all the guys were paid and no harm was done (some of the guys are still with us now in the company) but that’s just one example of what it takes from everyone.

“Although I won’t be racing/competing anymore I do want to be involved somehow, how and where I don’t know yet but just know I’m working on some things behind the scenes.”

Buchan enjoyed a successful career within the BSB paddock, celebrating his maiden title success in the National Superstock 1000 Championship in 2014. Two seasons in the Superbike class followed, before returning to and winning the National Superstock 1000 class again in 2017.

As a result of that title success, Buchan found himself back in BSB with FS-3 Racing Kawasaki and finished 11^th overall. The following campaign (2019) would prove to be Buchan’s best overall, finishing fourth in the championship behind the dominating Ducati trio of Scott Redding, Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell.

Buchan won two races that season, one at Knockhill and one at Cadwell Park, and secured a total of seven podiums. Buchan was one of only three non-Ducati race winners onboard his Kawasaki machine.

Buchan joined SYNETIQ BMW (TAS Racing) in 2021 and would go on to record four more BSB victories. He did the double at Knockhill in 2021, and matched that achievement at Cadwell Park the following year.

In 2023 Buchan sustained multiple injuries throughout the year, with his campaign coming to a premature end following a crash at the bottom of the Mountain at Cadwell Park.

A return to Kawasaki followed this season with the DAO Racing team, with Buchan securing a best result of seventh onboard the ZX-10RR. A highside during race one at Oulton Park in September left Buchan with a broken foot, meaning he missed the remainder of that weekend and also the following round at Donington Park.

In total, Buchan started 231 BSB races, collecting six victories, 23 podiums, one pole position and seven fastest laps.