Here's a wild twist for the premier-class grid: as The Race reports, former Moto2 and current World Superbike racer Jake Dixon is lined up to make his first Honda MotoGP start at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
Dixon, who recorded two MotoGP starts back in 2021, is to slot into the factory Honda team amid Joan Mir's ongoing illness. The 30-year-old Dixon has faced an injury-ravaged first campaign in World Superbike starting from 2026 onwards, missing the first five rounds of the championship thanks to a pre-season wrist injury. He was believed to have originally joined the Superbike team with an option to step into a MotoGP replacement rider role if needed.
But for me the question mark was the moment that the [heart] beats per minute go up. And that was in the race - and [it turns out] we still have some work to do. So I don't have more answers.
Instead, it was his team-mate Somkiat Chantra who got that chance first, replacing Mir at the Japanese Grand Prix last month and matching his career-best MotoGP finish of 13th on an improving RC213V machine.
Mir was forced to withdraw before the halfway point of last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix due to a recurrence of the eyesight problem that had also left him fatigued. He had previously skipped four straight rounds.
"We already knew with the doctors that if I was having some dizzy moments due to the heat and due to these difficult conditions, I would stop," he explained after his Sepang DNF, adding: "And I started to get a bit dizzy on lap nine. I was not having control of the situation and I decided to stop. We will continue working and hopefully we will sort the situation as soon as possible."
"Honestly, I worked so much to try to be in a better situation. All the weekend, I think it was a positive weekend," Mir continued. "But for me the question mark was the moment that the [heart] beats per minute go up. And that was in the race - and [it turns out] we still have some work to do. So I don't have more answers."
Dixon's previous premier-class races came when Petronas SRT promoted him briefly from Moto2 to replace the injured Franco Morbidelli. The British rider competed in both his home race at Silverstone and at the Aragon Grand Prix, coming home in 19th on his debut before crashing out from his second attempt.
MotoGP
MotoGP
