BSB Rider of the Year: 4th - Jake Dixon

After another epic season of racing, MCN’s sports team of Michael Guy (Sports Editor), Simon Patterson (MotoGP Reporter) and Oli Rushby (Superbike Reporter) sat down to discuss who impressed them the most in each race series we cover to establish MCN’s top five riders in each category.

And with this year’s BSB championship closer than ever, it wasn’t an easy call to decide who deserved what spot in our top five riders of the year in the class. Here’s what we think –  but feel free to disagree with us in the comments!

4^th: Jake Dixon  

Heading in to the fourth round of the 2017 season, RAF Kawasaki’s Jake Dixon had 16 points to his name. It hadn’t been a great start to the year, so when he walked away from Knockhill having won both races, it’s fair to say people were stunned.

The 21-year-old came out of nowhere to qualify on the front row before taking a commanding win in the opening race. He’d then go on to back it up, fighting with three more experienced riders to take the double.

From that point on, Dixon was a title contender. A run of podiums in the mid-season put him well in Showdown contention, and after securing his top six place he’d go on to be one of the quickest riders of the weekend at Oulton Park.

Only a crash in warm-up would hold him back, forcing him to start from pit lane as his bike wasn’t ready for the start of the race. That didn’t stop him, though, as he charged on to take a stunning fourth place and looked set to challenge for a rostrum had the red flags not brought the race to a premature end.

While a tough final two showdown rounds ruled him out of the title fight, 2017 was the making of Dixon, who now heads in to the 2018 season a clear challenger. He scored more podium points across 2017 than any other rider with the exception of Haslam, Byrne and Brookes and that’s why he sits fourth in our BSB Rider of the Year. 

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