McPhee claims pole position at Valencia

John McPhee claimed a sensational pole position after a stunning performance in Moto3 qualifying at Valencia.

The Scotsman, who started from pole position in Australia following a penalty for Danny Kent, earned the top spot on the grid with an early lap that left him one tenth of a second clear of Romano Fenati. With the chequered flag set to fall it looked like Enea Bastianini could have piped McPhee but a yellow flag in the final sector put paid to the Italian’s lap.

Danny Kent will line up 18th on the grid tomorrow after a dismal qualifying effort. The Englishman changed his gearbox before the session in a bid to increase his top speed but the change backfired and Kent was consistently on the rev limiter throughout the session. Miguel Oliveira will start on the second row.