MotoGP Austria: New tyre struggles stall Dixon’s progress

Zinia GasGas Aspar’s Jake Dixon completed day one in Austria sixth in the Moto2 times after leading the way on Friday morning.

His 1’35.000 FP1 effort bettered championship leader Augusto Fernandez by a tenth and a half after the opening 40-minute session and was enough to maintain Dixon’s Q2 potential despite being unable to improve in the afternoon.

The Brit failed to replicate his front-running form after struggling in the second practice with fresh tyres. However, he remains confident of his progress ahead of Saturday’s final practice after utilising FP2 to assess the available Dunlop options and prepare for Sunday’s 25-lap race.

“It wasn’t a bad day,” Dixon commented on Friday afternoon. “In the morning we were the fastest, and in the afternoon we were able to test both rear tyres - I felt better with the hard than with the soft.

“It was a bit difficult for us after the morning session, and when we put on new tyres, our problems multiplied: it was difficult to turn the bike and stop it, but I’m not too worried about that right now. Tomorrow we’ll make changes and I’m sure we’ll be better.”