Petronas SRT’s John McPhee made his BritishGP preparations a little harder than planned after a highside in Friday’s morning practice cut his Silverstone entrance short.
Pleased by the already growing home crowd - with the weekend proving a sell-out across the three days - McPhee got off to a steady start in FP1. Circulating in sixth with an early time of 2’15.272 lap, an unexpected Farm Curve highside sent the Scot over his Petronas Sprinta machine and down on his back, but lucky to walk away unscathed, albeit in 24th.
“The crash wasn’t the wake up call I wanted this morning, but I had purposely tried to feel my way in because the track temperatures were really cold and I was on a hard rear tyre,” McPhee explained on Friday afternoon after the 9am start.
“I was five laps in and on the gear change, going into Turn 12, it just spun up and I high-sided. It was a hard impact, especially on the lower back, so I’m glad that I’m okay to ride. I think I might wake up a little sore tomorrow!”
Afternoon improvements promoted McPhee back up the times but just outside of the all-important promotion zone for Saturday’s Q2, concluding his first day back on home soil in 15th, with an overall fastest time of 2’12.286.
“To go out in FP2, which was my first real run of the day, and be so close to the times is a positive thing,” he continued.
“It was so nice to see all the fans cheering and it’s amazing that we’ve got full, sold out grandstands this weekend.
“I really appreciate all the support from the home fans and hopefully we can put on a good show for them.”
