Britain’s Tarran Mackenzie declared himself happy with his first ever Moto2 race at the Le Mans MotoGP round after making progress through the weekend and setting his fastest lap of the race which did end with him in the gravel.

Mackenzie has replaced fellow Brit Danny Kent in the Kiefer Racing squad and hadn’t touched the Suter bike or ridden at the French circuit before Friday morning, so had a mountain to climb.

“It was certainly a good race until I fell, and I honestly did not expect to keep up with some of the more experienced Moto2 guys. I was able to keep a constant pace and rode my fastest lap time of the weekend, which is certainly the most positive aspect of my debut,” said the youngster.

“I am still in a learning phase and there are many, many things I need to learn. As soon as I have got used to the bike and have a good feeling with it, then everything should be OK.”

Mackenzie will test with the team today in order to start making changes to his riding style and alterations to setup ahead of the next race at Mugello.