John focused on Assen raceday comeback

PETRONAS Sprinta Racing Moto3 team experienced mixed fortunes in qualifying for the Dutch GP, as a fall in Q1 meant that John McPhee will require a raceday comeback from 20th.

John did not make it out of Q1, closing the session in 8th position. The Briton will thus start the Dutch GP from 20th place. He suffered a crash on his first stint on track, escaping unhurt but with his plans for the remainder of the session affected. His eventual best time was a 1min 42.455secs.

John was unable to match his best lap from yesterday, and his 1min 42.468 placed him 22nd in FP3.

The 22-lap Moto3 race will be held tomorrow at 11:00am local time.

#17 John McPhee
“At the beginning of the session we devised a plan: Make a pit stop and do two flying laps on each run. However, on my first fast lap I lost the front end and crashed. My pace was good at that time, but I made a mistake. I have to thank the team for repairing the bike so quickly and getting me back on track, even though I wasn’t able to make the cut for Q2. Tomorrow’s race will have a large group, and Assen is a circuit where a fightback is possible. Two years ago I started from 19th here and finished on the podium, so we have to put today behind us and focus on tomorrow’s race.”