MotoGP Austria: Dixon secures podium with ‘heart and determination’

Zinia GasGas Aspar’s Jake Dixon was back on the podium on Sunday after a determined ride to third at the Red Bull Ring.

His third rostrum visit in as many races, Dixon’s celebrations did not come easy. After starting fourth, a false neutral left him dropping though the pack before a fightback from eighth in the second half saw him run on the edge of the podium in the closing laps. With the champagne in sight, the 26-year-old began to challenge and a late move at the final turn on reigning Moto3 Champion Pedro Acosta secured the spoils. “It was such a crazy race, honestly!” Dixon said from Parc Fermé. “I was strong in the beginning, but then I hit a false neutral and I was struggling to keep my tyres in good shape from about lap eight. I tried some different maps because I was spinning too much, that’s why I was taking so long to come back to the group because I didn’t have anything. In corner four I couldn’t stop the bike!

“But my heart and determination was not going to let me finish fourth in that race.

“Then finally everyone else starts to come into a few problems and I’m able to get the maximum out of what I have underneath me. I can tell you I crashed several times trying to come back to the group. But like I say, I was never ever going to give up this podium when it was there. No matter who it is in front of me, I will always end up in front of them.

“So I give my absolute maximum. I tried one time failed and then tried a second time and squared it off into the last corner - I’d seen Dovi do it on Marquez a few years ago so I thought I’d try it myself and it was amazing. This is probably one of my worst tracks because I’m not a hard braker - but we are finishing third at not one of my best tracks, so super happy!

“J