Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to Scottish motorsport racer John McPhee after a dramatic win in the Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix.
Mr McPhee, from Oban, fought back from 17th place to take the top spot and get back into championship contention.
Tweeting about his victory, the First Minister posted: “Brilliant. Congratulations John!”
The 26-year-old motorcyclist said he was “over the moon” with the win.
“It’s a dream come true to be on the top step here after the last race and all the problems there,” he said.
“I tried to set all my times on my own on Friday and then I completely let the team down in qualifying, by having a crash right at the start.
“That race just couldn’t have gone any better for me though: it went perfectly to plan and I felt so strong. I knew it would be hard to make my way through, but on the first lap I was already up to P11 so I just tried to keep calm and creep my way forward.
“I found myself back in 14th so I just tried to mount a charge to see what happened. On that last lap I felt really strong, so I knew I could pass one or two guys in the last few corners if I needed.
“I just want to say a massive thank you to the team; I couldn’t have done it without them. It’s still early days in the championship, it’s good to close the gap but let’s see what happens next.”
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