Tricky conditions proved to be the theme of the day once again at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, with light rain showers affecting all three Moto3 sessions.
Despite this, Scotland’s John McPhee will start the Valencia GP from 16th on the grid having negotiated his progression through from Qualifying 1.
Intermittent rain created an unusually quiet FP3 this morning, with riders unable to improve upon their times from yesterday as the majority were forced to sit out of a large portion of the final practice.
Having spent much of Friday analysing race preparation, McPhee had expected to utilise Saturday’s session improving his overall pace but the conditions prevented him from challenging for an automatic Q2 place - the Scot ending the session ninth with a 1’39.889 lap, but remaining 21st overall.
Despite light rain falling again as Q1 began, McPhee challenged repeatedly at the top of the standing’s throughout the first session, ultimately securing his passage through to Q2 in third with a 1’39.996.
Hoping to maintain his momentum, the Petronas Sprinta rider set his fastest lap of the weekend – a 1’38.990 – on his sixth and final revolution of the day, however, the increasingly tight times across the class meant he eventually ended qualifying 16th.
“It’s been a strange day with the weather. We had very difficult conditions in Q1 because of the rain coming early, but we were fast enough to go through to Q2," said McPhee.
"I set my fastest lap of the weekend in Q2, the lap times were extremely close, but the position is not what we wanted. We’ve been working this weekend to try some new things, but we couldn’t make the most of what we found in qualifying.
“We have some work to do tomorrow as one lap pace around Valencia hasn’t been my strongest point this weekend, but I’ve been very consistent with my lap time so I think we can be strong towards the end of the race tomorrow.”
