Dixon: 'I’m incredibly annoyed at myself', P4 'something to build on' - Lowes

Jake Dixon left really 'annoyed at myself' following Mandalika Moto2 crash; 'I want to say sorry to the team. They gave me the bike to win and I wasn’t able to back that up'.
Dixon: 'I’m incredibly annoyed at myself', P4 'something to build on' - Lowes

The first-ever Mandalika Moto2 race ended in mixed fortunes for British riders Jake Dixon and Sam Lowes, with the former failing to convert his maiden pole into victory following a front-end crash. 

Dixon, who had been one of the stars of the weekend up until the race, lost two places from pole coming out of turn one. 

However, after getting back through on Lowes for second, the GASGAS Aspar rider attempted to push on and close down eventual race winner Somkiar Chantra. 

In his attempts to do so, Dixon lost the front-end and with it washed away any chance of winning a first world championship race.

In the immediate aftermath, a hugely disappointed Dixon, said: "I had a tricky start, and caught up to Sam [Lowes], and then passed him. Then I re-focused to try and chase down [Somkiat] Chantra. I felt I had the pace to do that. 

"When I got to turn ten, I braked in the same place I did every lap - even on the data I did everything identical to the lap before, but for some reason I lost the front. 

"I’m incredibly annoyed at myself - I want to say sorry first of all to the team, they gave me the bike to win the race today and I wasn't able to back that up!"

While it wasn’t a podium finish like in round one at Qatar, Lowes managed to claim a determined fourth place despite not having the pace he had hoped for. 

It’s a result that the Brit felt ‘was really important’ as he currently sits 16 points behind championship leader Celestino Vietti, who finished second in Indonesia.

Lowes added: "The race wasn’t the best but it was really important to finish and get some points. 

"This weekend I felt a lot better on the bike. In the morning I had a step up in performance. In the race I had a different feeling. 

"When it started to rain, I was not really aggressive and stayed quite relaxed. I saw another rider crash and it was more important for me to finish the race and get some points to give me something to build on – the opposite to 2021. 

"I want to thank the team. The bike was good. It was another decent finish. That’s what it’s all about at the minute: using my head more in certain situations. 

"When I saw it was difficult to go with Chantra and fight for the podium, I decided to finish fourth. I had a big gap behind. We’ll now go to Argentina and try to improve."

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