Jake Dixon opening preseason test of 2023 didn’t quite go to plan at Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto with his Inde GasGas Aspar Moto2.

With the full intermediate grid enjoying two days of private track time in Andalucia before the official test heads to Portimao from Friday, Dixon set 70 laps aboard his Aspar Kalex machine, recording a fastest effort of 1’42.238 around the 4.4km layout.

While Wednesday saw the Kent rider setting a steady pace, Tuesday’s effort saw him just missing out on the top ten in the combined times, nine-tenths adrift of outright pacesetter Pedro Acosta.

“We start the pre-season with two days of testing in Jerez,” Dixon said from Spain. “We will work further at Portimao to improve the feelings before the first race.

“We have tried to improve some aspects of the bike, but the changes we have introduced haven’t worked.

“We are going to study the information we have collected during these days to keep improving in the test.”