Jake Dixon after the Honda test at Estoril: “We’ve ticked off a lot of items”

Honda is heading for its worst Superbike season ever, but the Japanese motorcycling giant cannot be accused of inaction. When the factory team returned in 2020, they poached Álvaro Bautista, then the Ducati runner-up in the world championship, and paired him with Leon Haslam, an experienced Superbike rider. The new Triple-R was followed by several homologation models.

Since 2022, however, the works team has signed only rookies from the GP paddock. As a result, the riders are faced with a lot of new challenges in their first year – this year, that means Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra. To compensate for their lack of track knowledge, Honda therefore held two-day test sessions at Magny-Cours and Estoril in August, thereby shortening the almost two-month summer break.

The weather didn’t quite play along during the test in Portugal on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. “On the first day, the damp conditions following the early morning rain weren’t ideal, and I only did one lap to get to know the track,” reported the Englishman. “I usually pick up new circuits quite quickly. I actually really like Estoril, so in the afternoon, once the track had dried out completely, we were able to start testing almost straight away. Considering how many things we tried out, I’m happy with how the day went, even though there was one area we weren’t entirely satisfied with.”

The weather forecast for Wednesday wasn’t any better, with rain and thunderstorms predicted. Dixon made the best of the conditions. “In the morning, the track was completely wet. I haven’t had many opportunities to drive in wet conditions so far, so we made the most of the chance and still managed to complete several laps,” said the 30-year-old. “In the afternoon, the track dried out again, but overall I think the conditions today were a bit worse in terms of grip. However, we worked hard and ticked off a lot of points. Ultimately, I’m feeling a bit more positive about the feel at the front of the bike. We’ve made slight improvements at the rear, but we still need to go a bit further there. All in all, not bad.”