Petronas SRT’s Jake Dixon has been the talk of the paddock ahead of the AustrianGP but not necessarily for this afternoon’s qualifying performance, which placed him 13th.
The Brit has been tipped by many to be stepping up to MotoGP earlier than planned - in a fortnight to be exact - as Yamaha’s potential game of musical chairs continues and the championship heads to his home race at Silverstone.
While Maverick Viñales still counts himself as a factory rider, recent events lead many to believe his employment with the Japanese firm will soon be at an end. Cal Crutchlow, while currently filling in for the injured Franky Morbidelli, is expected to move to the Monster Energy M1, leaving a Petronas seat free, and an eager Brit to fill the void, at least in the eyes of the home fans.
“First of all, I don't know anything about it but it's funny how everybody knows more things than what I do!” Dixon joked from the Red Bull Ring after qualifying on Saturday.
“It's definitely nothing that I've discussed, so yeah, I just think it's rumours,” he continued before explaining the potential pitfalls of the unexpected move.
“I don't know, it could go one of two ways. You could be an absolute hero or you could be not very good, because it takes more than one weekend just to learn a MotoGP bike - tyres, brakes, everything. Yes, I have big bike experience from the past but it's slightly different, and it's been three years now where I haven't been on a bike so we'll see what happens,” he admitted.
Having a raft of experience at the British track throughout his career does put the Brit in good stead heading to his home race at the end of the month, however, he remains focussed on the task in had.
“More so I think I can do a really good job of Moto2 there,” he explained.
“I think this weekend if I can build on what I had last weekend, build on that and go into Silverstone, I think it really sets us up to be inside the top-five, pretty much all weekend.
“Throughout this weekend we’ve been chipping away, not making drastic changes but trying some things with the electronics and I think we’ve made good steps in that department.
“Overall I’m not completely happy with my lap, as I made a couple of mistakes, but that was my fault. I think without them the bike would have put me inside the top-10. It is what it is and I feel a lot stronger with my race pace, than I do over one lap.
“I think tomorrow the temperature will be a little bit cooler and I feel like we could have a good fight in the race. You can never tell how the race will unfold, but with my pace I should be able to make progress forwards. I’m going to try to get a good first few laps, hopefully settle into the front group and pull away with them,” he said confidently.
