Petronas SRT’s John McPhee was forced to mount a recovery ride at his home GP after dropping to 27th in the first lap of the Silverstone spectacle, finishing the Moto3 race 12th.

A difficult weekend for McPhee, thanks to practice crash on Friday and a shattered strategy in Saturday’s qualifying, got worse as Sunday’s first race of the day fired off the lights.

The Petronas rider had his work cut out after a lap one incident forced him wide at turn three. The Scot regrouped quickly, however, from the back of the pack, moving inside the points-scoring positions within just four laps of the historic layout.

The majority of the second half saw the 27-year-old immersed in a fierce battle for 10th with the 11-rider group swapping positions multiple times. McPhee eventually found the flag in 11th, but was demoted one position for exceeding track limits in the final lap, leaving his home Grand Prix with a 12th place finish.

“I fought really hard in the race today and pushed to my maximum from the very beginning,” McPhee said from the Silverstone paddock.

“Unfortunately in turn three on the opening lap I had contact with another rider and had to go straight on. I was in last position and it made the job even harder.

“I have suffered a bit since my FP1 crash and been trying to catch up, so it hasn’t been the easiest of weekends. I felt strong in the race and felt able to attack, so I feel like we did the best job possible.

“It would have been nice to be at the back of the front group, as I felt like my pace was there to fight with them. Coming from last to finish at the head of the second group was good though. Thanks to the team for working hard, like always, and now we focus on Aragon.”