Dixon: 'I've usually been good' at Qatar, top five 'would be very positive'

Two riders looking to build on a slightly disappointing 2021 campaign, Jake Dixon and 2020 Moto3 champion Albert Arenas look ahead to their first season with the new GASGAS Aspar Moto2 team.

For Dixon, it’s fair to say the former BSB runner-up is facing somewhat of a crucial 2022 campaign. 

Despite getting a two-race try-out in MotoGP following the Maverick Vinales debacle that led to Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow, who was already replacing an injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha, to be elevated to the Monster Energy Team, Dixon will most likely need his best year yet in the intermediate class if he’s to become the first British MotoGP rider since Crutchlow retired at the end of 2020.

Dixon, who finished the lone Official Moto2 pre-season test at Portimao in fourth place, feels fighting for a top five in Qatar, a track ‘I’ve usually been good at’ is a very realistic possibility. 

Dixon said: "I really like the Qatar circuit; I've usually been good at it. I'm looking forward to competing there after the Portimao test, where we finished with a very good feeling. 

"Being able to fight for the top five would be a very positive goal."

On the other side of the GASGAS Aspar Team garage, Albert Arenas is hoping 2022 can be a year where we see the true 'Albert Arenas again'. 

The Spanish rider claimed just one top ten throughout his first year in Moto2, while consistently being bettered by fellow 2021 rookies Raul Fernandez, Celestino Vietti and Ai Ogura.

"The goal in Qatar will be to enjoy racing again, to be Albert Arenas again," said the six-time Moto3 race winner. 

"In Portimao, talking to my team, I told them that I felt like I was coming back, so that's going to be my goal at the start of the season."