The Scottish driver is continuing a second consecutive year with the Sepang Racing Team and intends to use all his experience and the milestone achieved thanks to his team to play at the forefront this year.
With the Petronas team, John McPhee finally seems to have found the balance that he lacked since his first full season in 2013 in the small category. Author of his best season last year with a victory, two podiums, two pole positions and the final fifth place in the championship, the Scot seems to be on course to do even better this year.
And for good reason, he came within 53 thousandths of victory in Qatar and therefore started the year with a second place. Even if the championship is now at a standstill, McPhee displays new confidence and strength, due to his very good union with his team, and he will undoubtedly be in the game from the next GP.
“This first race of the season was fantastic! I think looking back, now that we don't know when we will be able to race again, it was important for me and the team to be able to start with a podium and even fight for victory in Qatar. We had a really solid pre-season and worked a lot on our setup from last year.”, he declared during from an interview published on his team's website.
“It's the first time in my entire career that I still have the same bike, the same team and the same people to work with me and it's really valuable because I was able to arrive with a smile under my helmet at the first test then at the first race of the season. The feeling was there, the confidence too and we were able to progress together to achieve our objectives in each test and at the GP. »
Seven seasons, seven teams and three different bikes. It is then difficult to maintain regularity, as change is constant. However, after two first seasons of learning, he was already on his first podium and achieved his first pole positions. The following year he won for the first time, and finished in the final top 7 the year after. The Scotsman has always been able to show his potential despite the difficulties, and after great promises in the French CIP team in 2018, the revelation truly arrived last year and the Sepang Racing Team finally gave him stability. who he missed.
“I believe that the most important step was to have this continuity with the team and the bike”, he explained. “I don't necessarily feel like I'm driving differently, except maybe I'm doing it with a little more confidence thanks to the fantastic team and people I have with me. I think it's because we know what works so we've been able to work on improving our weak areas. We have therefore generally reached an additional milestone. »
The oldest rider in the category, the one who will celebrate his 26th birthday on July 14 now displays solid experience to counter the young Moto3 recruits, a major asset in trying to beat them: “If we can ride, I think the 2020 Championship will be one of the most exciting and close. Every year some move to Moto2 but this season it seems that many of them have arrived in the championship and are fast. We saw from Qatar that 15 drivers fought for victory. Saying a name is very difficult, but obviously guys like [Tony] Arbolino, [Albert] Arenas and [Ai] Ogura looked strong in testing and racing. Fortunately, I feel really good and I think we have our chances to fight when we can return to the track. »
