John McPhee on “quirky” Oulton Park: “I need more laps to understand the track”

This week’s Oulton Park BSB test marked a return to the circuit for the first time in 15 years for John McPhee.

The Scottish rider, who debuts in BSB this season after a year in WorldSSP, was last at Oulton Park on a 125cc bike, but heading there this week had also to continue his adaptation to the Honda CBR1000RR-R Superbike he will race this year for the MasterMac Honda squad run by Hawk Racing.

“It’s all completely different,” McPhee said, speaking to Crash.net, of Oulton Park on a Superbike compared to the 125cc he last rode at the Cheshire circuit.

“Obviously, the first time jumping on a 1,000cc, on a Superbike, for me this year; I knew it was going to be a big transition, but instantly I felt good with the bike, good with the team.

“We went out to Spain and had two really good days in Alcarras, turned up at the official test in Navarra and finished really strongly – on the last day we were third in both sessions and fourth on the combined [times].

“So, I was like ‘Maybe it’s not as big a transition as I thought,’ and that is – to a certain [extent] – correct; but the difference is coming back to places like Oulton Park where the track is so quirky, it’s got so many technical bits and that’s what I need to learn now – I just need more laps to really understand the track.

“I’m feeling good with the bike – we are still testing and developing, but the biggest thing for me is just understanding exactly where I’m going and lap-by-lap that’s coming better.”

While it has been an initial struggle for McPhee as a BSB rookie to re-learn Oulton Park while also adapting to the Fireblade, the ex-Grand Prix rider is sure that there will also be tracks on the calendar where he can be competitive.

“There’s plenty of tracks that I know I’m going to be strong at and I’ll be absolutely fine at,” he said.

“The likes of Oulton and Cadwell are two of the extremes, so I think if we can get through this first round and get some really good points on the board it should set us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

McPhee added that there is more for him to find in himself than in the bike at this still-early phase of his adaptation to BSB, to the Honda CBR1000RR-R, and to a Superbike in general.

“I’d say more to find in me – definitely,” he said.

“Then, the bike setup is working, it’s in a really good working window. The team has got so much experience to know exactly what they’re doing, I think the difference is just in bringing the bike to suit my style as well.

“Immediately in Spain it all worked and it all clicked straight away. You then come to somewhere like Oulton Park where it’s a bit more quirky and it takes a bit of time. We’re working away at it and I’m sure come round one we’ll be good to go.”