Frustrating time for McPhee
‘It was a really difficult weekend for me’
CONNEL’S John McPhee concluded a frustrating sixth round of the FIM Moto3 Championship at Mugello with a 23rd place finish.
With his Peugeot-badged Mahindra bike struggling for power at one of the longest circuits on the Moto3 calendar, McPhee had difficulties with continuing gearbox problems heading out of corners on to the long straights.
Starting 28th, the Racing Steps Foundation-backed rider lost out when the lights went out, dropping to the back of a group including Stefano Valtulini (3570 Team Italia/ Mahindra), Fabio Spiranelli (CIP-Unicom Starker/ Mahindra) and Adam Norrodin (Drive M7 SIC Racing Team/ Honda), all slipstreaming for position throughout the race.
With the rest of the pack 18 seconds ahead, McPhee was battling for 22nd place, but with a lack of power underneath him he was nipped to the spot by Norridon. It meant McPhee was forced to settle for 23rd.
After the race a disappointed McPhee said: ‘It was a really difficult weekend for me and it’s hard to accept the speed we are doing at the moment. I tried everything, I gave 100 per cent to find a lap time to be competitive with but it didn’t come.
‘All in all it’s difficult for me to accept because two years ago I was fighting for the win here in Mugello and I was one of the fastest riders out there but today I was riding at the opposite end of the field.
‘I’m not happy about this and I know that we’ve work to do but I’m sure if the team continues working hard and we continue in the best way we can then we can prepare well for the next race in Barcelona on June 5.’