The British rider wins a fantastic battle for victory in his penultimate Moto3™ race as drama unfolds for World Champion Guevara
In his penultimate Moto3™ World Championship race, John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) produced a phenomenal ride to come from P22 on the grid to P1 at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia to claim his first win since the 2020 San Marino GP. Ayumu Sasaki made it a Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max 1-2 with a second place finish, with Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) picking up the final podium in P3.
Comeback King McPhee wins as Guevara holds on for P12
Tricky conditions greeted the riders at the beginning of the race as there were still plenty of damp patches lingering from overnight rain in Sepang, but everyone – rightly – opted for slicks. Off the line, newly crowned World Champion Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) timed his launch to perfection to grab the holeshot, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and teammate Garcia slotting in close behind. Turn 9 then saw Foggia overtake both GASGAS Aspar riders before David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) expertly grabbed P3 – Guevara was now down to P9.
On Lap 2 coming out of Turn 9, Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) highsided out of the top five as the field did a great job of avoiding the Italian, but the incident saw Nepa – thankfully conscious – taken to the medical centre. Once the race had settled down, a lead group of five had formed but we then saw Turn 9 catch out Muñoz and Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) in quick succession.
With 12 laps to go, the fight for the lead was now between eight riders: Garcia, Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Foggia, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max), Guevara and Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team). McPhee – after starting P22 – was dragging himself and Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) into the lead group, quickly making it a 20-wheel battle.
After Guevara took the lead for a couple of laps, Foggia bit back with eight laps to go before Guevara was back holding the baton with six laps left. After making great progress, Rossi crashed out of P7 at Turn 1 with five laps to go, seeing a group of five form for the lead – McPhee in sixth was seven tenths away from Foggia’s rear wheel.