BSB: Dixon closes in on Showdown spot

After his unexpected debut double victory at Knockhill, no-one was sure how Jake Dixon would perform at Snetterton. 

But the 21-year-old’s realistic pre-race expectations proved useful as he left the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team’s home round having scored more points than any other Kawasaki rider.

With the Kawasaki known to struggle with conserving Pirelli’s softer rear tyre, Dixon played it safe with the harder option in race one, but his rivals on the soft he struggled with a lack of grip in the opening stages.

Switching to the soft for the second race, he took it easy in the early laps before picking through the field to finish in a solid fourth place to haul himself into seventh in the championship standings, just four points from an all-important showdown place. 

TOP STORIES

• MotoGP: Marquez wins eight in a row as Folger takes home podium
• The 5 best V4s you can actually own
• Three’s the magic number for the updated Moto Guzzi V7 III
• BSB: Byrne holds off Brookes for Snetterton double
• MCN Fleet: So what is wrong with the new Blade?

“I had a heavy crash in the morning warm-up and after not doing anything wrong it chucked me onto the ground hard so to bounce back from that with a fourth and a sixth is pleasing,” Dixon said. “The second race was a lot better than the first and we made some big improvements to the bike which definitely helped whilst we also went for the softer tyre. It was hard coming from row three and at one stage the group in front of me had a gap of more than two seconds which made it tricky as I didn’t want to push too hard too soon and use up the tyre.

“I actually had more grip than I thought and perhaps could have pushed harder a bit sooner so a podium was potentially on the cards. As it was, I came away with a fourth and a sixth and although it would obviously have been nice to have been on the podium again, I got a good haul of points this weekend. It keeps the momentum going and builds on what we achieved at Knockhill so to move to within four points of a Showdown place puts us in good stead going into the next round.”

Looking for the perfect two-wheeled companion? Visit MCN Bikes For Sale website or use MCN’s Bikes For Sale App.