BSB: Pit-lane to fourth for determined Dixon

Young gun Jake Dixon stunned the MCE British Superbike field once again in Sunday’s opening race with an epic ride to fourth from a pit-lane start.

The RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki rider almost missed the start of the race after a crash in warm-up left the team with just an hour to get the bike ready to be out on the grid. Missing pit-lane opening, Dixon had to start from the end of pit-lane but a ruthless charge through the pack saw him fight his way up to fourth.

It could have been even more of a fairytale for the 21-year-old, who was closing in on third-placed Josh Brookes when the red flag came out to prematurely end the race.

“That wasn’t easy!” he said after the race. “That bike was written off in warm-up, so what I rode then was pretty much bolted together, gaffer tape and all and wasn’t even cleaned!

“I knew I had to score as many points as I could so I just pushed on as hard as I could, there were a few moments but I bloody loved it! There was no way I was doing all of that for nothing!” 

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Dixon looked set to make amends further in race two as he fought for the win until a gamble on the softer option Pirelli rear failed to pay off as he started to slip back through the field. 

“We were quick in the dry this weekend but with some dry sessions damp we didn’t get to explore much with tyre life. We took a gamble in the second race and it didn’t work. At half race distance the tyre dropped off and I had nothing left and was spinning everywhere.”

The tough weekend has seen Dixon’s gap to series leader Haslam more than doubled, but he’s adamant it’s not over yet. 

“We’re still in the hunt, it only takes them to make one mistake and we’re all close again. Although if we’re there at the end of it we’re there and if we’re not we’re not, we’ve had an amazing year and we can’t be disappointed, especially now we’ve signed a deal with Lee to do it all again next year!” 

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