Lusail International Circuit
Dixon delivers first MotoGP points on Honda debut
With Luca Marini and the Honda HRC Castrol team electing to withdraw him from Sunday’s Qatar GP due to his physical condition, Jake Dixon stepped up to score points on his Honda MotoGP debut under the floodlights.
Despite the relentless demands of the desert, the Honda HRC Castrol team kept their focus throughout a complicated Sunday at the Lusail International Circuit. Warm Up, held with the sun still high in the sky, gave Honda’s factory team a final opportunity to adjust the setting of their Honda RC213V machines and better understand Luca Marini’s physical condition.
Having continued to struggle physically as he did during the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix, Luca Marini and the Honda HRC Castrol team chose to withdraw the #10 after Sunday Warm Up. Unable to put his maximum physical effort in for more than a handful of laps, Marini will return to Italy and undergo a series of tests with his doctors to best understand his condition and prepare for the final pair of races.
Promoted to 15th on the grid due to the withdrawal of his teammate and Bagnaia, all eyes were on Jake Dixon as the sole representative of the Honda HRC Castrol team. Starting well and with Saturday’s learnings at the front of his mind, Dixon made an aggressive start to pass both Lecuona and Morbidelli into the first corner. Latching on to the back of his fellow WorldSBK regular, Dixon and Iker Lecuona tried to break away from Viñales and Morbidelli.
Lap four would see Dixon lose contact with the group after running on at Turn 1, the British rider keeping his head down and worked to close back in. Matching the pace of those ahead of him, a fading duo of Diogo Moreira and Brad Binder would promote Dixon into the points, the #96 going on to cross the line in 14th and earn his first points in the premier class. Rider and team were left satisfied with the result achieved in Qatar.
Just two Grands Prix remain in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, a single week off before a Portugal – Valencia double sees out the season. After three physically and mentally demanding races in a row, it will be a welcome chance for the Honda HRC Castrol team to catch their breath and refocus ahead of the final push of the year.
Jake Dixon 96 Honda HRC Castrol
“First I have to say thank you to everyone in HRC and the Honda HRC Castrol team for all they have done this weekend. Everyone here has been incredible to help me improve each and every session. It's great to get points on our debut, more than I could have hoped for when I was on the plane over here. I went wide at Turn 1 during the opening laps of the race and I lost contact with the group, honestly I was annoyed about it because when I looked at the times after the race I would have been able to stay with those guys. 74 laps is all we had this weekend, that's what these riders usually do in a single day of testing, so we really need to be happy and enjoy this moment - what a great experience it has been. It's all gone too quickly!”
