A bumper fourth episode of 2022 from the Official MotoGP™ Podcast: Last on the Brakes saw Jake Dixon (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) still smiling after his debut Grand Prix podium at The Americas GP. The Dover native is right in the title hunt after his COTA P3, and reflected on the milestone achievement with hosts Fran Wyld and Elliott York.
"It was great, obviously super excited to get the first podium. It’s been a long time coming, I waited too long for it. If I’m truthful, come Monday, Tuesday, I was focused on how I can be better in Portimao and yeah, I want to now win a race. I enjoyed it, but now I’m fully focused on what I want to do next."
It seems to be very much a case of eyes on the prize for the Briton, with Dixon outlining his intent to back up that breakthrough result with a maiden victory at Portugal. When posed with the question of which track might favour him, he believes the Portimao rollercoaster could be the place for him to finally stand on the top step, though he won’t be disappointed if it isn’t.
“I’m in such a good place riding with the bike that it could be any round. It doesn’t have to be a certain round. When the timing is right, it will happen. I’m not going to push the situation."
Having recently moved to Aspar, Dixon spoke highly of his new surroundings, praising the family-oriented nature of the team and admitting that "feeling at home is key to being fast on the bike." Dixon also opened up on his ambitions to return to MotoGP™, having ridden Yamaha’s M1 in two Grand Prix during 2021, but it’s a move he would be only willing to make if it is on his terms.
"I’ll only go to MotoGP if the timing is right, and I have the right package underneath me. Unless you go with the right package, it’s super difficult to make an impact straight away. I don’t want to go and just make up the numbers straight away and then build my way into it as I have done with Moto2. I feel like on a MotoGP bike I have more of a scope to do even better than I am doing now because naturally, I think my style of riding is more towards the big bike."
It’s a measured approach from Dixon, but his ambitions are still high, adding that he wants to win the Moto2™ world title before making the jump to the premier class.
There was plenty more up for discussion over the near hour-long episode, including how his good friend Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) is "a nightmare" and the prospect of seeing even more British riders compete at the highest level of the sport. To watch it back, head on over to our Twitch channel where you can also catch up on the other three episodes of Last on the Brakes, plus many more MotoGP™ videos.