Jake Dixon revealed he has full belief that Honda will be able to win a race “by the end” of the current WorldSBK season.
Dixon joined WorldSBK for the 2026 season after a seven-year stint in Moto2, and came into the paddock with clear ambitions of becoming “a world champion one day.”
The British rider is yet to make his WorldSBK debut after suffering an injury at the final pre-season test in Phillip Island, but remains optimistic for what awaits on his return.
Dixon also praised the work put in by Honda and test rider Jonathan Rea for making the changes it needed after testing.
“If I’m being truthful with you, like I’m not gonna sit here and spin b*******,” Dixon told media including Motorsport Week.
“My first comment when I rode this bike: it turns super good, like the chassis on the bike is incredible.
“The old electronics that they had needed work, but now they’ve done some development with this. The bike now this is why Johnny [Rea] has got so much work on it because he has to obviously go through the development phases of doing all this work.”
However, the British rider has suggested he has high hopes of where the development could lead for future results in 2026.
Dixon still believes Honda can win by the end of the current campaign despite the Japanese manufacturer having a best result of 12th from the nine races so far.
“It needs time, but the potential of the bike is so much more, so for me, when I wrote it in Philip Island on old tyres, we were around the top five on race pace, so I generally believe that the time that comes to the end of the year, why can’t it be a race-winning bike?” Dixon said.
“Honda has the power behind them to really put the effort into to make that next step that they’ve been missing, so it’s got everything there, really has everything there.
“I genuinely believe the bike is capable of eventually winning by the end of the year; I wouldn’t come and sign for HRC if I didn’t think that they were capable of winning.
“I want to win, I don’t wanna just come and take a paycheck and just ride around. I’ve got objectives to be a world champion one day, and I believe that we, as a team, can be back on top together. I’m so motivated.”
Honda test rider Jonathan Rea on Jake Dixon’s ‘ambitious’ WorldSBK target
Honda test rider Jonathan Rea has somewhat supported Dixon’s targets, and has suggested if the work continues “the potential is there”.
Rea returned to Honda as a test rider upon announcing his retirement as a full-time rider last year, and has filled in for Dixon while the Brit recovers from his wrist fracture.
The six-time WorldSBK champion remained coy on Honda’s chances of winning a race and suggested both the manufacturer and Dixon were “ambitious”.
However, Rea also admitted that if he can help improve the base setting of the bike, a race win could still be possible.
“You always have to have targets, that’s important,” Rea said.
“Jake’s ambitious, the project’s ambitious, but we really need to improve the base of the bike for him; that’s my job in the test team.
“We have a lot of testing this year away from the track. If we can put everything together, there’s no reason why not. Last year, Iker [Lecuona] and Xavi [Vierge] were battling close to the podium in some races, so the potential is there.
“Jake’s got good potential, too, so why not? You know, winning a race, let’s wait and see.”
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