Racing Steps Foundation Moto3™ rider earns end-of-term World Championship rides

Racing Steps Foundation Moto3™ rider John McPhee is set to replace the injured Alexis Masbou for the remaining five rounds of the World Championship, starting at Aragon this coming weekend.

Caretta Technology rider Masbou, who is currently sixth in the Moto3 world standings, broke his femur in a private test at Vallelunga earlier this month and is out for an indefinite period. McPhee, 18, from Oban, Argyll, will join the Turin-based Caretta squad at the Spanish circuit on Thursday to acquaint himself with team personnel and prepare for Friday's free practice sessions.


The Scot will compete on his KRP M3-01 chassis which has been re-liveried in Caretta Technology colours and is to be fitted with the Italian squad's Geo Technology Grand Prix spec Honda engine. The Caretta ride will give McPhee additional Grand Prix experience at Motegi (Japan), Sepang (Malaysia) and Philip Island (Australia) - three circuits on which he has not previously competed. He will also race in the season finale at Valencia in November.

"It's fantastic to be given the opportunity," he said on hearing the news. "To get more experience at world level with a Grand Prix team like Caretta should give a boost to my prospects of getting a full-time World Championship ride in 2013. Naturally I have a lot of sympathy for Alexis and wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. He's clearly had a strong working relationship with the team to get the results he has, so hopefully I will be able to pick up where he left off."

Caretta Technology team boss Giorgio Bertelli said McPhee, who has seven Grand Prix wildcard rides under his belt, was "an ideal replacement". "Alexis has done really good work for the team this year but John showed everyone at last month's Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno that he has what it takes to be a strong competitor. So we are very comfortable with him as a stand in. We hope to achieve good things together."

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