MotoGP Mugello: McPhee ‘satisfied’ with second row start

John McPhee came close to a debut pole for the Sterilgarda Husqvarna squad during Saturday’s Moto3 qualifying before settling for the second row.

Easily securing his place for the Q2 shootout during FP3, McPhee’s opening hot lap, a 1’57.299, sat him in provisional pole until the dying seconds before a shuffle to the standings left him sixth. Less than half a second separated him from eventual poleman Deniz Öncü with the Scot convinced he has what it takes for Sunday’s 20-lap Italian Grand Prix.

“I am very satisfied with the second row start for tomorrow.,” McPhee confirmed from Mugello. “Of course I wanted more because until the last minutes we were in provisional pole, but anyway the positive things first.

“The bike is working really well, I am really happy, the team is doing such an amazing job, and it’s good to feel very strong. I think we made an improvement from the hot weather conditions of FP2 until now, because yesterday in FP2 I did not find so comfortable, but today I managed to improve even compared to FP3.

“This was a very positive point, it was a shame that my fastest lap was at the start, because I think, maybe it was not good enough for pole, but for sure it was for the front row. Anyway, in Mugello it does not make such a big difference, since the race here is normally a big group. So yeah, I am very excited and motivated for the race tomorrow.”