After spending Friday in bed with the flu, Petronas SRT’s John McPhee ended his Emilia Romagna GP early, after just nine laps.

Struggling at the start, with both the track and his own physical conditions, McPhee dropped from 12th on the grid to run 15th at the opening corner, recovering to battle on the fringes of the top 10 by the end of the first lap before fading as the race played out. The Scot survived a tangle with Riccardo Rossi on lap six before eventually succumbing to Misano’s tricky turn one, from 18th, three laps later.

“It’s been a tough weekend,” McPhee said at the close of Sunday. “I was laying in bed all day Friday thinking that I wouldn't be able to ride, so I was really happy that I could swing my leg over the bike yesterday.

“I was struggling in the first couple of laps today, not feeling 100%, and maybe it would have been better to stop then. I don’t know what happened with [Riccardo] Rossi but I hope he’s okay and I definitely didn't mean to make contact.

“After that I was struggling with the front and unfortunately turn one caught me out. The crash was my mistake. It was a difficult weekend but at least I’m starting to feel better and we’ll definitely come back stronger for Portimao.”