It was a sunny Sunday morning in Assen, when Jake Dixon got his long-awaited Moto2™ win. It is, hopefully, just the beginning. "This is just the start of how good I can be", says Dixon in this interview, in which he reflects on his maiden World Championship victory, on his different path to Moto2™ and on how the 14-year-old Jake Dixon would be over the moon now, but…
How does it feel to be a Grand Prix winner?
It feels good, it was just a matter of time, rather than if I was ever going to be. It feels great, but it doesn’t end here, I want to be multiple times winner. My aim now is to be back stronger and come and figth for the front at Silverstone.
How did it feel to be like “subscribed” to P3? How much did you desire that P1?
It was frustrating to constantly end in P3 when I was on the podium, nine times! But it wasn’t for lack of trying. Every podium was great, but winning was even better.
In your career, you had a different path than the “normal” JuniorGP-Moto3™ path. Do you feel like you missed or lacked something, did it make any difference?
Obviously, I lacked experience. I started my career when I was 14 years old, it is what it is. Lack of money meant I had to take a different path than anybody else. Honestly, my dream was always to be in MotoGP™, but dreaming is one thing, doing is another. The Spanish championship wasn’t feasible, we couldn’t afford it. I just had to do the best I could in BSB and then in the World Championship. This is my fifth year in Moto2™, yes, but there’s people that has been doing more years in Moto3™, for example. I started later, when there’s people that start with 4 or 5 years, but I am still hungry for more and more success.
How young do you feel at 27? Your first win took a bit longer than for other riders, but it still looks like you are growing and growing and the best seems yet to come.
100%. Age is only a number, I am one of the older ones but, in experience, I am probably one of the least experienced. The sky is the limit for me, I feel like I haven’t even reached my peak of how good I can be, I think this is just the start of how good I can be. The trickiest thing to unlock my full potential is confidence, but now I have more and more confidence, I have just won my first GP and I think I am the one that has got the most to improve.
What do you think the 14-year-old kid from Dover would have thought, had he known what was in store for him?
As I said, it was always a dream, but dreaming and doing are always two different things. I didn’t know if I would ever be here as much as I wanted to because of financial means. I always believed I was good enough to be here, but financially, you need good sponsors. I have been given good opportunities throughout my career, I have had people believing in me, and everything together got me where I am. Now, everything is paying off. The 14-year-old me would be over the moon now, but would be saying I want to win the championship so… it’s not finished yet.
You still have twelve more races to go, what’s the goal now?
The goal is the same as it was at the beginning of the year, it was not just to win a race, but to be World Champion. I am working everyday towards that goal; I believe more and more everyday that I can do it. I’m going to give my 110% as always. The outcome is going to be what is going to be. All I can do is do my best and hopefully we can be having some good things to cheer about at the end of the year.