Scotsman John McPhee and French team manager Alain Bronec joined forces at the start of the season. During the German Grand Prix, it was the opportunity to reach the podium for the first time this year for McPhee as part of the CIP-Green Power team.
“After the start of the season of work and adaptation to the motorcycle, explains Alain Bronec, John has made great progress in recent races. He drives alone during testing and that really helps us a lot. »
At the German GP he ranked 8th at 0.7 during free practice and 3rd KTM.
“We were present throughout the tests. You have to see that in FP3 we tried to cover the mileage of the race with a certain type of tire, and therefore we were not able to be permanently at the front. But it was planned like that and it was a lot of work. »
During timed practice, the 8th time on the grid at 0.3 wasn't bad.
" Exactly. In addition John was a little embarrassed in T4 (editor’s note: fourth partial). He was 1 tenth behind in T3 and lost 2 tenths in T4 because he couldn't overtake a driver in the penultimate corner. It was a shame, but in the end this third row suited us because we knew it was going to be difficult and that the race would be long. Our only objective after qualifying was to start in the right group. »
Then McPhee took 3rd place with three laps remaining behind George Martin et Marco Bezzecchi, being one of the very rare drivers with a medium rear tire (the others being hard).
“We tried the hard rear tire during testing because we weren't sure that the medium would last the race distance. Ultimately John managed to achieve the same performance with the degrading medium, so the choice worked well. »
Is John getting used to the KTM well? Is collaboration between the driver and the team now easier and more efficient?
“Now it’s starting to work well. We found a good basic setting, but what is important is that now from Friday morning it is quickly in action. It allows us to work really well during the two days of testing and for the race. »
British journalist Simon Patterson wrote: This is McPhee's first podium this year. Good work from the CIP team after a difficult start, but we have to be fair and recognize that the team gave him what he wanted and that he used it well ". Is that a nice compliment?
“That sums it up well. It's very good (smile). The beginnings were difficult and John was asked to stay focused and work hard. It’s true that it’s going very well.
“We are a small team, it’s quite family. For Saturday evening we had a cake made for John's birthday. We can still have this type of atmosphere in Moto3. »
For the moment, at mid-season McPhee is 14th (having finished out of the points 4 times in 8 GPs). How do you see the rest of the season?
“It’s going to be difficult to play for a place in the Championship. Our goal now is to finish among the top 5 in each Grand Prix. If we manage to qualify on the second row, we can fight for the podium. And at this level we can possibly envisage a victory. »
How are things going with your new driver? Stefano Nepa ?
“He made a good start. In Assen, it wasn't easy, he was a little tense and finished the race slightly tired. At the Sachsenring, which is a very technical circuit, he had never lapped there unlike the other drivers, even for example in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. The first time was very difficult but he rode really well. He had never run for so long with tires that were degrading, because he too had started on the medium rear. However, there was only a small gap between his best lap and his slowest lap. So he is starting to understand this type of long race, where we reach the tire limit at the end of the event, unlike, for example, the national championships. It was something he was unfamiliar with and handled quite well. »
Photos © PSP and CIP Green Power
