MotoGP Assen: ‘We were in the fight for the podium today’ - McPhee

John McPhee was challenging for the DutchGP Moto3 podium on Sunday before the Sterilgarda Husqvarna rider bowed out early on the last lap.

Having set a new all-time record - a 1’41.190 - on lap 13 of 22, McPhee had been enjoying a strong race at the front of the field alongside his race-winning teammate Ayumu Sasaki.

Despite being knocked down to 17th in the opening stages, the Scot made a quick comeback through the pack. Entering the top ten by lap six, he was in the mix and firmly in the front group for the majority of the second half with frequent podium challenges and a highest place of second. After a dip back to sixth on the penultimate lap followed by a return to the edge of the podium fight, the number 17 slid out of contention at turn nine on the final lap, openly frustrated to lose such a strong result.

“Initially after the race I was very angry about the crash,” McPhee acknowledged. “Afterwards however I thought about how strong we were in the race, we were fast and even got the new all-time lap record of the TT Circuit Assen, using the hard rear tyre. As the laps went by, I felt better on the bike and in my comeback I was also in second place.

“We showed that we were in the fight for the podium today. There are so many positives to take away from the weekend overall.

“Obviously I am not happy with the way the race ended. I need to say a huge congratulations to the team and to Ayumu for the first victory. I hope the next time we can both be on the podium together.”