Strong showings in both Barcelona qualifying sessions this afternoon saw Petronas SRT’s John McPhee secure a sixth place start for Sunday’s Moto3 CatalanGP. 

Despite missing out on a slipstream at the end of Saturday’s morning practice, McPhee showcased his solo ability throughout Q1. Dominating the first 15-minute session with a 1’48.529 as he promoted himself into the final shootout. 

His initial Q2 time of 1’48.350 placed him second before the late hot-laps reeled in, but the Scot’s final effort was deleted due to exceeding track limits. His earlier best, however, was enough for a second row start in tomorrow’s 21-lap encounter, with the number-17 lining up in sixth. 

“It’s been a good day and we continued our hard work from yesterday, trying to analyse a few different things on the bike” McPhee said from Barcelona.

“It was almost a bit frustrating at the beginning because we were making progress, and then we weren’t. The team has done a really good job putting everything together though to make it work in qualifying. 

“In Q1 I was really happy because I was doing my laps alone, they were consistent and I had a bit of a margin over the rest of the field. We knew riders would be looking for the tow in Q2, so to have my laps consistently quick when alone shows that the hard work has paid off. 

“Starting tomorrow’s race from P6 is a great position to be in and we look forward to the battle."