Jake Dixon had a very promising weekend in the World Superbike championship, taking his very first points finish.
An 11th place finish on Saturday was the best result of the weekend, which could have been better but for a couple of mistakes in the two races on Sunday left him with a 14th place and a DNF.
Jake lined up in tenth place for Sunday morning’s ten-lap Superpole Race, opting for the extra-soft SCQ rear tyre. Dixon made a strong start and moved into ninth, establishing his position through the opening laps. Running ninth and closing in on Vierge in eighth during the second half of the race, the British rider looked on course for a strong top nine finish until he came close to losing control of his CBR1000RR-R.
Jake managed to save the crash but was forced to run wide and off track, rejoining in sixteenth place. With little time to regain ground, Dixon moved up two positions to cross the line fourteenth.
For the second and final race of the weekend, Dixon set out from P11. The Dover born rider moved straight into the top ten, bringing up the back of the chasing group.
In what developed into a very fast-paced race, Jake subsequently lost a little ground but worked to maintain his pace and position well inside the points zone. Twelfth at the mid-race point, the rider unfortunately suffered a crash on lap eleven, at Turn 13. He was unhurt in the incident but unable to rejoin the action.
Honda HRC will now travel to Italy, to the Cremona Circuit, for testing on 9-10 September.
Speaking after the weekend, Dixon said: “This weekend has definitely seen us make a step. Of course, it’s unfortunate to make two mistakes today, and I apologise to the team for that. The Superpole Race was really annoying because seventh position was on the cards, and probably the same again in Race 2.
“I was biding my time. I got put out wide when Bautista passed me, so I lost a few positions, but I regrouped, gained back some positions and had just caught back onto the group. Unfortunately, going into Turn 13, I slid a bit too much and, as it gripped, it pushed back onto the front and I had no chance to save it. It’s one of those things, but my mentality is that I will always push to the limit while we try to make the next step. I think our positioning this weekend has been between seventh and tenth.
“We came eleventh in Race 1, I think, and fourteenth in the Superpole Race, but that result wasn’t a true reflection of where we are. We’ve definitely been in the top ten all weekend. Step by step we’re making good progress. We need to make a lot more progress, but we’re getting closer, so let’s see what we can do next time.”