McPhee fights to hard-earned fifth in Malaysia
JOHN McPhee was ready for the next challenge of the season, with the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit last Sunday.
A long, technical and challenging track, Sepang has five left and 10 right-handed corners, with a longest straight of just under a kilometre. And there are two long straights connected by the final hairpin always a stunning spectacle for Moto3.
Two races remain in 2017, with McPhee in the fight for sixth in the standings.
McPhee made a solid start taking 11th overall on Friday after combined timesheets were decided by FP1 as the rain came down in the afternoon.
The Scot’s fastest lap in the morning was a 2:14.236, just on the the cusp of the top 10. In FP2 the Scot moved up the timesheets to go seventh - just a 10th off the top five in a tight fight near the top. McPhee suffered a crash at the end of the session, but with no consequences.
Off to a good start, McPhee was looking to keep it rolling in qualifying on Saturday.
The Connel rider has been on the pace all weekend and qualifying was the best of the bunch as the Scot took a front row start ready for the race on Sunday
McPhee set a 2:12.816 as his fastest effort, one of only two riders to get within a second of the record-breaking pole lap, and hoped to be pushing to get away with the front group from the off. Then it will be a fight for the podium and points, with the Scot currently seventh in the standings but gunning to end the season on a high.
In the race itself McPhee converted a front row start into a top five finish - despite getting forced off the track during the race in order to avoid an incident ahead.
After a solid start to stay up with the front runners, McPhee wasn’t quite able to stay with the lead trio but was fighting it out around the long, slipstream-heavy Sepang circuit.
Then, a crash ahead saw McPhee have to head over the grass and onto the entry to pitlane before rejoining - and the Scot had a fight on his hands. Picking his moment to perfection at the end, the BTT rider got the best of the group and crossed the line in fifth place.
After the race McPhee said: ‘Overall it was a successful weekend. It was nice to be at the sharp end in every session and feeling so comfortable on the bike.
‘The target today was the podium so I’m disappointed not to achieve that but I’m also happy that I managed to claw my way back through the order after running off track to avoid the crash.
‘My bike felt great, so a big thanks to my team for all their hard work all weekend.’
Next up is the final round in Valencia as the paddock returns to Europe for one last fanfare in 2017 - and the British Talent Team are looking to end the year on a high.