Tough start to the season for John McPhee

The long awaited Moto3™ World Champion 2016 got underway this evening when the lights went on to offer an amazing scenery at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

The race at the desert track close to Qatar’s capital Doha was the very first opportunity for the new series entry in the colours of Peugeot MC SAXOPRINT to participate in the highly competitive lightweight category.

Conditions improved in comparison to the previous days and not only to due that fact, John McPhee headed very motivated into the race in front of the team’s main sponsors and guests.

Though, after a tough qualifying, expectations were on a low level but both John and teammate Alexis Masbou proved their potential as true racers again this evening. Both riders got a decent start but stuck early within a big group of riders who fought hard for positions throughout the entire race distance.

Till the next race in Argentina in two weeks, Peugeot MC SAXOPRINT look forward to receive a technical upgrade for their Peugeot Moto3 machine. This package was available for the moment to Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia.

#17 John McPHEE – 27th:
“A difficult race at all. Coming from 30th position on the grid to try and move forward was really hard for me. The positive thing is that we had improved the gearbox in terms of the problems we endured yesterday and also the chassis is not so bad but unfortunately it’s a big task to pass other riders with this bike on the straights. Therefore, I had to work really hard in the corners. I think if we can do better during qualifying at the next race weekend and then, we are able to fight more towards the front. But for the moment this is something of impossible.”