Dixon opens up on top in Motegi
Jake Dixon had a fantastic first day at the Japanese Grand Prix and topped both of the day’s sessions, while Filip Salac ended the day in 15th.
Partly cloudy skies and warm ambient temperatures of 28 degrees greeted Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Jake Dixon and Filip Salac in Japan on Friday.
The Mobility Resort Motegi played host to the opening Moto2 sessions of the 17th round of 2025, with Jake topping both of the day’s sessions.
Both Jake and Filip will be back on track on Saturday with FP2 starting at 09:25 local time and qualifying getting underway at 13:40.
Jake Dixon, 1st – 1’48.679
After a disappointing race in Misano last time out, Jake felt he had a point to prove in FP1. He was immediately comfortable and shattered the previous lap record to top the session by 0.175s.
The Briton posted an impressive 10-lap run at the start of Practice as he honed his feeling for Sunday’s race. Jake was able to lap in the 1’49s six times in that run.
The 29-year old then went back on track late on and set another new lap record on his final lap to top Practice by 0.14s.
“I had a great day. I’m feeling really good on the bike and it was like that from the first laps this morning. I’m still annoyed about how Misano finished up to be honest. I really want to go out and have a good race this weekend. I feel like I’m back. I’ve been back for the last four races, even if the last one was a blip. I’m back on form again. P1 today and we’ll be working hard this evening to improve the bike for tomorrow. I need to clean my riding up a little in a few sectors ahead of qualifying. We’ll try to put the perfect lap together and see what we can do tomorrow.”
Filip Salac, 15th – 1’49.260
It was a tricky start to the day for Filip as he crashed at Turn 7 early in to FP1. He was thankfully unharmed and was soon back on track, posting the 14th fastest time in FP1.
The Czech rider is still lacking some feeling on corner entry and feels some tweaks to his engine brake setting can help him improve on Saturday.
Despite being just over half a second off the fastest time in Practice, the 23-year old was 15th, which means he faces a trip through Q1 tomorrow.
“It’s been a difficult day here in Japan. I had a fast crash on just my fourth lap in the first free practice session. That definitely didn’t help us. I’m lacking a bit of feeling still. I’m struggling to stop the bike with engine braking at the moment. We must do something to change this as I don’t know what I need to change as a rider to make a difference. We need to manage the slide, to have less of it so I can be comfortable when I’m braking and turning in to the corner, which then determines how well I can exit. Anyway, we’ll continue working on it tonight and see what we can do tomorrow.”