You?ll have probably heard the news that Jake Dixon, former BSB runner-up, will be making his MotoGP debut this weekend at the British GP at Silverstone. That?s right, after what?s looked like a difficult half-season on a Moto2 bike, the lad from Dover?s stepping up into the big leagues (as if Moto2 wasn?t big-league enough) for a round; and I, for one, am thrilled about it. And I?ll tell you why.

First of all, in case you?re wondering what?s going on, let me shed some light on it. It?s all a bit ?musical chairs? in Yamaha?s MotoGP setup at the moment; you?ve got Morbidelli out with injury, and Viñales has just been sacked. So Cal Crutchlow, who was riding Morbidelli?s Petronas Yamaha, is now riding Viñales? old Monster Yamaha. That means there?s a Petronas Yamaha going begging, which is the one Jake?s going to ride? are you keeping up"
That means Jake?s teammate for his premier class debut is none other than Valentino Rossi. That?s fairly cool, isn?t it" Something to tell the grandkids.

Hardon

But is he the right person to put on the bike" Well I think so, yes. For a few reasons. First of all, he?s not really anywhere in the Moto2 standings (19th), after a few DNFs and a handful of non-points scoring finishes. Missing a round isn?t going to hurt. There?ll also be all sorts of sponsorship and financial reasons to pluck Jake DIxon out of Moto2 for a round; to start with he?s already part of the Petronas Sprinta Sepang Racing Team, so there?ll...