Solid opening day’s work for John at Le Mans
Demonstrating good pace in both the wet conditions of the morning and the mixed conditions of the afternoon, PETRONAS Sprinta Racing’s Moto3 rider John McPhee ended the day 12th. With rain forecast tomorrow, being inside the top-14 today could prove crucial to make it into Q2 directly.
John proved to be strong in the tricky, cold and damp conditions experienced in FP1, staying within the top positions throughout the session. The Scot continued to show his good form and ended FP1 at the top of the times by 0.563secs, with a 1min 53.294secs lap. Like his team-mate, McPhee also improved upon his morning time immediately in FP2 and, at the halfway point, the Scot was firmly inside the top-ten. Finding himself with no riders around him for his final lap, John was only able to post the 12th fastest time – 1min 42.890secs – but it does mean that he is within the vital top-14 places if bad weather affects FP3 tomorrow.
Binder and McPhee will be back out on track tomorrow for Free Practice 3 at 9am local time (3pm MYT), before the first of the two Moto3 Qualifying sessions gets underway at 12.35pm local time (6.35pm MYT).
John McPhee
12th (1’42.890)It was a solid day one here, in both wet and dry conditions. In FP1 we just worked to find our own pace and rhythm, and managed to end the session over half a second clear of the next rider. This was a nice way to start the weekend. In the wet conditions there is room for a small improvement, but generally it just comes down to finding a rhythm and flow with the track. I felt good in the dry as well, did my best lap time alone on track and was six tenths off. There’s definitely room for improvement, some of that to do with my riding, but I’m excited for tomorrow and working towards the race. The biggest factor is going to be what the weather does, but we’re ready to put on a good show in either the wet or the dry.
