Jake Dixon and the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team had an up and down day at Cadwell Park on Sunday with the 21-year old taking an excellent second place finish in the first MCE British Superbike Championship race before crashing out of the lead during the second.
The Kent born rider signalled his intentions for race day right from the off as he was never outside of the top five during free practice and qualifying and, with a time of 1m26.458s, he duly qualified in a strong fourth place for Sunday’s opening 18-lap race around the undulating Lincolnshire circuit.
A good start saw him immediately slot into third and when Shane Byrne almost crashed in front of him a lap later, he was up into second. He wasn’t happy to stay there tough and took the lead off Leon Haslam two laps later, holding on until lap ten when his fellow-Kawasaki rider got back ahead.
For the remaining eight laps there was nothing between the leading two riders – indeed, the leading eight riders were only covered by 1.7s – and although he tried everything he could, Jake was unable to find a way back by Haslam. Nevertheless, he took a superb second place for another rostrum finish and was only 0.131s behind Haslam at the end of 18 hard fought laps.
Starting race two from fifth and the middle of the second row, Dixon completed the first lap in second behind pole position man Lee Jackson but on the fourth lap he moved ahead at Park Corner to lead for the first time. Positions remained the same for the next four and a half laps but towards the end of lap nine, Jake lost the front end through Hall Bends and crashed out, sadly bringing his strong day to an abrupt end.
The day’s results mean that Jake remains in seventh overall in the table but he’s closed the gap to sixth place and the final Showdown spot to just five points with a triple header next time out at Silverstone.
Speaking after the weekend, Dixon said: “I’ve had really good pace all weekend and felt comfortable leading in the first race so although Leon came by just after half race distance, I just tucked in behind. I tried to have a go on the last lap but fair play to Leon, he’s one of the most experienced riders around here and hard to beat so he kept the door closed everywhere.”
“I felt really good in the second race and felt like I had another gear to move up to if needed but I’d been experiencing chatter through Hall Bends regularly during the weekend and I think that was what led to the crash. It’s a real shame and has given me work to do at the next round but these things happen and the good thing is that, despite the crash, I’ve closed the gap to sixth place. The bike’s working well and I’m feeling good so we’ll bounce back stronger at Silverstone.”
TAGS: Jake Dixon