Jake Dixon sacrifices WorldSBK test day: “We needed to work on riding in the rain”

Wet weather limited the chances for all teams at the Portimao WorldSBK test this week to work on developing their bikes, but some riders had little choice but to ride.

These included Honda rookie Jake Dixon, whose adaptation from Moto2 to World Superbike was affected by three crashes in his first test at Jerez in November, and then by bad weather in both Jerez on 21–22 January and in Portimao on 28–29 January.

Dixon, though, was one of several riders to use up one of his testing days for the year on Thursday in Portugal, finishing third-fastest as he sought to gain more understanding of the Honda CBR1000RR-R in wet conditions.

“Obviously, it would’ve been nicer if the weather was a little bit kinder to us over these two days,” Dixon told WorldSBK.com after the second day of testing in Portimao, “but we decided to go out today [Thursday] and use one of our days, just because we needed to work on riding the bike in the rain and obviously I’ve not done too many laps. 

“So, really productive, I’m really happy with where we’ve just finished the test with the wet bike, so just a massive credit to the team and everyone working hard behind the scenes as well.”

Dixon added that he was focusing on bike balance and riding position, the weather leaving little opportunity to try new items.

“It isn’t just one point, it’s the overall balance of the bike,” Dixon said when asked what he’d been working on.

“Just trying to get me a little bit more comfortable in the riding position and these are the main areas.”

Looking to the final test of the preseason in Australia on 16–17 February, Dixon added: “Just keep continuing to do what we’re doing. 

“We’ve got a lot of work still to do, but just enjoying the process, enjoying with the team, and each race just moving forward.”