KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto3 riders – John McPhee and Khairul Idham Pawi (KIP), put behind two crashes experienced in yesterday’s qualifying session to come in fifth and 22nd place, respectively at the Czech Republic Grand Prix (GP) at the Brno Circuit today.
McPhee, who started at 18th spot on the starting grid proved his mettle by gradually overtaking a huge number of riders before finishing in fifth with a time 39 minutes 06.879 seconds, while KIP finished in 39 minutes 30.136 seconds.
Today victory saw McPhee moved up to third in the Moto3 World Championship Standings with 51 points, while KIP remains without a single point with seven others after four races.
“To move forward in the championship it was important just to take the points. To be able to finish fifth after starting 18th I’m really happy.
“A couple of championship contenders have finished in front of me, which isn’t ideal, but we’re still very close in the points standings and I’m looking forward to going to (GP) Austria (next weekend),” the 26-year-old Briton said after the race.
KIP, fondly called Super KIP, was delighted to finish the race despite struggling with the injury sustained in a crash during the qualifying session yesterday.
“To be honest I didn’t think we would be able to finish the race today, because I was having trouble with my finger on the brake. I just tried to continue, take each lap one by one, and aim to finish. I’m so happy that I was able to do that.
“Despite the pain, the pace wasn’t too bad, but starting so far behind it was hard to make up the places,” KIP added.
Italian rider, Dennis Foggia of Leopard Racing claimed his maiden Moto3 title this season by setting a time of 39 minutes 06.370 seconds, followed by Spaniard, Albert Arenas of Gaviota Aspar Team and Japanese rider, Ai Ogura of Honda Team Asia who finished 0.205 seconds and 0.251 seconds behind respectively.
In the Moto2 action, Petronas Spring Racing rider, Xavi Vierge of Spain clinched four points after finishing in 12th spot out of 25 riders with a time of 39 minutes 32.957 seconds.
His teammate, Jake Dixon of the United Kingdom, however, failed to finish the race after involving in a crash with 10 laps remaining.
The next race is the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring Circuit next weekend. — Bernama
