The British rider has Fernandez and title rival Vietti for company on the front row as the heavens open again in Valencia

John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) claimed his first pole position of 2020 in a wet Moto3™ qualifying session at the Gran Premio de Europa, the British rider’s 1:52.252 enough to pull over three tenths clear of second place Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Title rival Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) completes the front row, just ahead of Championship leader Albert Arenas (Valresa Aspar Team) as the grid promises another Sunday stunner.

Ahead of Q1, very dark clouds were threatening at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Three title contenders were in the opening qualifying session, Arenas, Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) and Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing). It was a crucial and tense start to the session as the riders piled out on slick tyres, and Arenas had a big moment on his out-lap as the rain started falling – albeit lightly at that point. But after overnight rain as well, there were still plenty of wet patches on track. Ogura and Arenas were the early leaders in the session, the rain just about holding off, with Masia struggling.

Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) then crashed before CarXpert PrüstelGP’s Barry Baltus and Jason Dupasquier went down as well, and then Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) took a tumble too as the rain came down at Turn 14. Rodrigo crashed again at said corner to make it a hugely dramatic start to the afternoon’s proceedings. Masia remained three seconds off Ogura’s time at the top, the double MotorLand winner heading back out on wet tyres... but to no avail. He finished P14 in the session, which is P28 on the grid and quite a mountain to climb on Sunday.

That meant Ogura, Rodrigo, Arenas and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) were the four contenders going through to Q2, and it would be a wet session to decide pole. The heavens had fully opened for the second part of qualifying and it was Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) who set the first banker time. That was immediately beaten by Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Arenas and Riccardo Rossi (BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy), but there were going to be plenty of changes in the next 10 minutes.

At the front, Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) had taken over ahead of Binder and McPhee, but the provisional polesitter was the next man down as he crashed unhurt at Turn 4. McPhee then went three tenths clear of Arenas with a 1:52.514, with Garcia tumbling at Turn 9 and Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Moto3) at Turn 12 – proving the conditions were continuing to get trickier.

Nevertheless, Fernandez then threatened McPhee’s time to take second, just over a tenth off with two minutes to go. McPhee was responding though, the Scotsman 0.3 under his best time by Sector 3 and as the sun started to pierce through the clouds, the number 17 extended his advantage by another two tenths. Just ahead of McPhee on the road, title contender Vietti crashed at Turn 6 while occupying P3 – the end of his session, but with a good lap in the bank beforehand.

It came down to the final push. Could Fernandez spoil McPhee’s party? On his final lap the Spaniard gave it a cracking shot and coming across the line, he was just 0.064 off the Petronas rider. But then drama hit, with that lap cancelled for the Spaniard. Ultimately, his second best lap was enough, however, giving the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider second on the grid.

He’ll start alongside polesitter McPhee after the Scot took his first pole since the 2019 Austrian GP, with Vietti completing the front row. Arenas heads up Row 2 after coming through Q1, the laptime shuffle not bumping him forward in the end.

The Championship leader will be joined by Lopez, who crashed twice in Q2 but took P5, with Rossi completing the second row. Garcia spearheads Row 3 ahead of the man second in the standings, Ai Ogura, with Darryn Binder taking P9. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounds out the top 10.

A hugely dramatic Saturday afternoon in Moto3™ sees one title contender suffer as Masia is left with a mountain to climb on Sunday afternoon – and his main rivals all sit inside the top 10. What will the weather bring for another crucial showdown? Find out at 11:00 local time (GMT+1) on Sunday morning!

Top 10:

1. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 1:52.252
2. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.371
3. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.411
4. Albert Arenas (Valresa Aspar Team Moto3) + 0.569
5. Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.927
6. Ricardo Rossi (BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy) + 0.953
7. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.978
8. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) + 1.016
9. Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) + 1.059
10. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 1.724



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Heavy rain showers and unpredictable track conditions made for two dramatic qualifying sessions at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where John McPhee proved to be a wet-weather master, taking his seventh Moto3 pole position, the first one of 2020. PETRONAS Sprinta Racing team-mate Khairul Idham Pawi will line up for European GP 25th.

Wet track conditions in FP3 ensured that the times set yesterday could not be beaten, guaranteeing a Q2 spot for John. After gathering some valuable data, John ended the session on top with a 1min 49.559secs lap. Heavy rain started to fall at the beginning of qualifying, but the weather didn’t prevent the Scot from setting the fastest lap time of the session – 1min 52.252secs – and claiming his seventh Moto3 pole position, and third with the team.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 action will kick off with Warm Up at 9am local time before the 23-lap race gets underway at 11am local time.

John McPhee - 1st (1’52.252)

It’s a really nice feeling to take our first pole position of this year, especially with the conditions today. We thought we were on the ball, getting ready with the slick tyres for when the green light went on, but then it started raining. We knew we were going to have to with the wet setting and then once we rolled out the garage the rain just started getting heavier and heavier. Thankfully we had scrubbed the tyre in during FP3, which really helped us be up to speed in the first few laps, but then I felt confident enough to improve the time further towards the end of the session. We don’t know what weather to expect tomorrow but we’ve got a good base setting on the bike, so I think we can be fast whatever the weather. I think it’s going to be an exciting day.