JAKE DIXON TO REPLACE JOAN MIR AT HONDA FOR QATAR GP

Jake Dixon will return to MotoGP at the Qatar Grand Prix, stepping in for Joan Mir at Honda HRC after the Spaniard’s latest health setback. Dixon, who races for Honda’s WorldSBK team, will ride alongside Luca Marini at Lusail.

Mir’s comeback in Malaysia ended on lap nine when dizziness forced him to return to the pits and retire. He had already missed four rounds—from Austria through Australia—because of health problems. Honda has confirmed he will sit out Qatar as he continues to recover.

Dixon is the sixth rider to represent Honda’s factory team in three months, amid a season of repeated substitutions. Takaaki Nakagami filled in at Austria, where he finished 13th, but was later injured in a crash during his Motegi wildcard appearance. Somkiat Chantra replaced Mir in Japan and also took 13th. Aleix Espargaro was due to ride in Indonesia but did not start after a practice crash; he was returning from serious back fractures sustained in a Sepang test. With Nakagami and Espargaro unavailable through injury, Honda has turned to Dixon rather than Chantra, who has more experience on the RC213V.

The Qatar outing will be Dixon’s first MotoGP appearance since 2021, when he made two starts for Yamaha as a stand-in for Franco Morbidelli. His best result was 19th at his home race at Silverstone. Dixon spent seven seasons in the Grand Prix paddock from 2019 to 2025, earning seven Moto2 wins and 22 podiums, before moving to WorldSBK. A wrist injury threatened his career during a difficult Superbike season, but he recovered and finished strongly, with five top-10 results in the second half of the campaign. He said the late-season form left him wishing there were more races, and that the Honda call gave him the chance to extend his season.

Dixon called the opportunity a dream come true, thanking Honda and saying that racing for its factory MotoGP team is something “every rider dreams of” as a child. He said team boss Alberto Puig and crew chief Santi Hernandez had taken away any pressure: “It’s simply about riding, and at best we learn something for both sides. Honestly, I can ride here without pressure on one of the best bikes in the world; it doesn’t get better than that.”

He cautioned against expecting a result, noting that the field was already racing its third consecutive weekend and that it would be “completely presumptuous” to think he could make an impact. The Qatar grid is expected to be smaller after Yamaha’s project withdrew, while Honda WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona is also stepping in for the injured Alex Marquez, giving Dixon a chance to race against fellow Superbike riders on MotoGP machinery.

Dixon also wished Mir well and said he hoped to see him back on a bike soon. “It hasn’t been a straightforward year for me either, so I sympathise a lot with him,” he said. “Let’s make the most of this weekend.”