John McPhee had a Thai Grand Prix to forget on Sunday after crashing out of the Moto3 race in the early stages.

Turn five of the Chang International Circuit proved McPhee’s undoing as he lost the front fighting at the back for the top ten after launching from eighth on the grid. Pleased with the progress made across the Buriram weekend and the speed shown on the Sterilgarda Husqvarna, the Scotsman is optimistic as he turns his attention to Australia in a fortnight’s times.

“It is a real shame to finish the Thailand GP with a crash in the race,” a disappointed McPhee admitted. “I was pushing hard and unfortunately with this came a crash in turn five, where I lost the front. I am sorry to my guys for this, the crash is my mistake.

“I felt strong on the bike, but unfortunately we were losing some speed in the straights, so I was forced to work extra hard in the areas where I felt good, to try and pass the riders back again. In the end it was not meant to be today.

“Consistency is something that we had a lot this year, but we have just been missing a little bit of speed, so today I pushed 100 per cent and unfortunately this was the outcome. Now we will take the speed we have and move on to Phillip Island where I hope we can have finally some good results.”