Jake Dixon 'didn't have any options' to move to MotoGP, Francesco Bagnaia hopes to 'win every race'

Jake Dixon has said that he will be staying at GasGas in Moto2 after receiving no offers from MotoGP.

The 27-year-old British rider spoke to TNT Sports about his decision to remain with GasGas Aspar and believes the professionalism of his current setup is a good reason to stick with the outfit for the coming campaign.

He said: “It was quite simple really, I didn't have any options to go to MotoGP in the end, so I think I weighed up the options for Moto 2. We had a lot of options, which was nice.

“My priority is to stay with the team, it works well with where I am, and it’s just one of those things.”

Asked if he had wanted to move up, he acknowledged: “Of course. You never know what can happen. It is what it is, I keep moving, and that’s that.

“I don’t want to speak too much about it.”

Discussing last weekend’s race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, he said: “Because it wasn’t the easiest of races, I struggled quite a lot there, I could not get the bike stopped how I wanted it. The small change they made in the engine brake really affects us compared to how we had it last year."

Celestino Vietti won his first race for the Fantic racing team, with Pedro Acosta (Ajo KTM) second.

Dixon was able to finish fourth - six seconds off the lead - behind Honda Team Asia's Ai Ogura in third.

“We had to work hard, and even in the race we modified," Dixon said. "It’s a credit to the team and that makes me want to stay. I shouldn’t have even been in the top five really. It was too unpredictable with the bike. Honestly it was a solid ride. I just ran out of time, and my front tyre went through the race.”

Looking ahead to the 2024 campaign, he added: “I want to win it, I’m not here to finish second, I don’t train everyday to finish second. Look what’s happened already, I’m telling you it’s not over."

Meanwhile, current MotoGP championship leader Francesco Bagnaia is prepared to fight for the rest of the season.

He said: “It’s a long way but I think this part of the championship will be tough, it’s a lot of races in a short time but I love all the tracks we have left. I don't know India, but I think we can enjoy everywhere. Let’s see, we have prepared well. With physical preparation we have prepared well. I think these next three days are very important in the championship."

Asked about his competition ahead of the weekend at the Barcelona GP, he said: “Brad [Binder] for sure, he’s so competitive. He’s the one I saw with a lot of motivation and is very tough to beat. I think the main competition will be [Jorge] Martin too, so fast everywhere. He was a bit unlucky the last couple of races. I think this track will be quite tough for me, because I love it but I’ve never done something good, but let’s see.

"I feel incredible with my team. I know if we work well we have the potential to win every race."

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