McPHEE’S LAST DANCE
The in-form Scot is ready for a final Moto3 title assault before graduating to Moto2 in 2021
John McPhee heads into the 2020 season perfectly placed with both experience and continuity on his side as he starts his second consecutive season with the Petronas Sprinta Racing team.
In 2019 the Scot enjoyed his best season yet in Moto3. McPhee won at Le Mans, secured two further podiums and took pole on two occasions, finishing the year fifth overall. “I’m really looking forward to the new year,” McPhee told MCN. “2019 is the first year I can look back at and say we were consistently fast and consistently fighting for the win. We were in the top six in every race last year from Le Mans onward, so if we can start this season in the same way and keep that consistency going, I think it could be a really interesting year.”
McPhee is going into his ninth season in Moto3, making him a championship veteran. Although winning the title is always the aim, McPhee is targeting this season as his final year in the class – no matter what happens.
“My main focus is to go to Moto2 and that’s been the case now for at least two or three years. At the same time, I feel like there’s unfinished business in Moto3 and I think that we can show more potential here before making that move. Now is the time to bring it all together for this one final season and then make the move up to Moto2.”
The 25-year-old certainly finds himself in the right place for a potential promotion. The Petronas Sprinta Racing team is a part of the Sepang Racing Team setup which includes the Petronas Yamaha MotoGP team and the equivalent Petronas Sprinta Moto2 squad.
“It’s something that we’ve already talked about and it will be discussed during the season. The plan is to step up to Moto2 with Petronas and if that option does become available to me, I’ll 100% take it. If not, I’ll look elsewhere to see which other Moto2 options are available.” McPhee is the first to acknowledge the benefits of remaining with the same team. This will allow him to be
100% ready for the opening race of the year in Qatar.
“Staying with the same team is invaluable. When I arrived in Jerez it felt like I’d never left for a winter break. I literally rolled round and on the first flying lap I was only a couple of seconds off the pace. In the past, those first couple of days or even tests can be spent setting up your position on the bike and understanding the bike and team around you. When you don’t understand the bike underneath you it’s hard to get through a race weekend and develop the bike, and this can lead to it being four or five races into the season before you really know the package you’re riding.
“To turn up and be on the pace straight away, feeling comfortable with the bike and really being able to finetweak what we have is incredible.”