Jake Dixon took his first points in the World Superbike Championship with an 11th place finish in France this afternoon.

For Dixon it will have been a long time coming, after his season was delayed through injury and he will be looking to continue building momentum and points tomorrow and for the rest of the season.

Gaining a position following a penalty for another rider, Dixon lined up in ninth place on the grid. At the start Dixon meanwhile worked hard to establish a pace that would allow him to stick with the chasing group. Ninth through the initial stages, he was lying tenth on lap nine when a red flag brought the race to an unexpected halt due to debris on track following an incident for another rider.

With two-thirds of the original race distance not completed, Race 1 was set to restart under the quick start procedure, with a shortened 12-lap race. The grid for the restart was based on the positions at the last completed timing point, meaning Dixon would line up in tenth place for the second part of the race.

The restart initially cost the Dover rider some of the momentum he had built in the first part of the race, with Jake dropping from tenth to fourteenth and last of the riders still in contention. His focus and determination remained unchanged, however, and he gradually found his rhythm and began to regain ground. He first passed Petrucci for thirteenth and then moved into twelfth following a crash for another rider.

Continuing to push, Dixon progressively closed the gap to Locatelli ahead, catching the Italian in the final stages. Jake made his move on the final lap to take eleventh place, a well-deserved result at the end of a strong and hard-fought Race 1.

Speaking after race one, Dixon said: “Shame about the red flag, if I’m completely honest. I felt really good at the first start. I got a good start and, after the first few laps, got into a good rhythm with Axel. I was pretty happy with that, but then unfortunately the red flag came out.

“I hope everyone’s all right. I didn’t get a very good start at the restart, so I dropped back and didn’t feel so good at the beginning, but then I started to recover a few positions. My rhythm towards the end was good, and I felt like I just wanted a couple more laps because I think I could have got the ones just in front of me.

“We have two more races tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can do. It was the first time I’ve been in this kind of situation in Superbike, so it takes some time to learn, but I learned many things in this race, being around the group. It’s good. Step by step.”