Jake Dixon Says Failed Aragon Return Still Helped Recovery

Jake Dixon has defended his decision to attempt an earlier WorldSBK return at Aragon, despite that comeback ending with his withdrawal after Race 1.

The Honda rider missed the entire opening phase of the WorldSBK season after suffering wrist and hand fractures during testing at Phillip Island. He then returned at Aragon, finishing Race 1 in 16th place, but withdrew from both Sunday races.

Dixon also pulled out of the Emilia-Romagna WorldSBK round two weeks after Aragon, although that decision was not his choice. Ahead of the UK WorldSBK at Donington, he stressed that his mentality had always been to try to return to racing as soon as possible.

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“Honestly, I wanted to try in Misano, it was only the team that said no, and I fought the team hard, and I tried to get on the test a few days after and they fought me against that,” Dixon said ahead of the UK WorldSBK.

“My mentality is that I would try all day long to try and come back. It’s a credit to the team as well because they have kept me calm in a sense, that they want me to be as close to full fitness as I can possibly be.”

Although Dixon admitted the Aragon return may have come too early, he still believes the weekend offered value in his recovery process. He felt getting back on the bike helped his body and race rhythm, even if he was not yet ready to complete three races.

“Maybe I came back too early, but also it [Aragon] was still helping me recover in a way, I just wasn’t able to do the two races on the Sunday,” Dixon said.

“So, I’m much better than I was four weeks ago, that’s for sure, so I expect myself to be able to do three races no problem.”

Dixon completed a test at Donington before his second comeback attempt. He had not ridden at the circuit since leaving BSB in 2018, and admitted its narrow layout required a major adjustment after racing on wider grand prix circuits.

“Fucking busy, and narrow – really narrow,” Dixon said of Donington.

“After riding like Silverstone, and a lot of the grand prix tracks are quite wide, coming back here is quite a shock, especially riding the big bike here. It took me a few laps to get into it, to readjust the brain again.”

Dixon also cited Jonathan Rea's data as an important reference for understanding how to ride a Superbike. With limited race rhythm across the year, he said the next phase is about building consistency, adapting and developing a stronger technical understanding of the WorldSBK machine.

“I learnt a lot of things from looking at Johnny’s [Jonathan Rea] data for how to ride a Superbike and he’s the prime example,” Dixon said.

“If you were going to look at anyone for how to ride one, it’s him. Now I need to start to adapt, learn, get into a rhythm, and understand everything.”

The UK WorldSBK round now becomes an important checkpoint for Dixon to test his full physical readiness and restart his competitive adaptation after a long injury layoff dating back to the Phillip Island test.