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The Catalunya circuit handed the British rider Jake Dixon his second victory in the championship, in a weekend that had saw improve, also taking pole position on Saturday. In the race, the GasGas Aspar man fought hard to hold off the attacks of his opponents, intelligently managing the early stages of the race, in which conservative tyre management was essential. A strategy that paid off in the final frenetic laps that saw him duel with the Spanish Canet and Arenas, whom he then managed to defeat. Scoring twenty-five vital points for the classification, which sees Dixon third with 142 points, regaining ground on Arbolino and on the leader Acosta. The Briton, who has already renewed with the Aspar team for next season remaining in Moto2, was among the shortlist of riders who might have made the move to the premier class, which has now been without British riders after Crutchlow's six wild-cards as replacement for Dovizioso in 2022.
"It was a fantastic race, I enjoyed it and the pace was really strong - the Briton began - It's another dream come true, my second victory in the championship. The team gave me an incredible bike, I didn't think it would be possible, on Friday I started by falling down the stairs - he joked - and between one free practice session and another I had such a migraine that I couldn't see on one side. On Saturday things improved and I even got pole and from there on things went right."
This circuit put the resistance of the tyres to the test, yet in the last few laps you managed to increase your race pace.
"At the start of the race, I had a good pace in which I felt comfortable, but then when Canet overtook me, I had to chase him. I think I managed to stay conservative with the tyres in the segments where I had a margin. I followed the leading group without losing sight of them, Acosta leapt forward, then it was Canet's turn again and I thought: "him again!?". I think I didn't do the last few laps very clean, so I also owe a lot to the team who prepared a perfect setting on the bike".
In your first victory in Assen you felt you had the right feeling on the Dutch track, here in Barcelona it wasn't like that right away.
"I always look for the victory on every circuit, but I feel that this year things are different, I'm comfortable in every race, I can always be competitive. Compared to Holland, here in Barcelona we took a decisive step on Saturday. On my first exit with the hard I was able to do a 1.44 and from that moment I realised that I would be competitive. The main difference is that at Assen I was able to push to the max, while here being conservative paid off in the end. But in any case it wasn't an easy victory, I’m up against the best riders in the world, to be able to overtake at these levels you need to be at the top of your potential. However, I owe a lot also to the people around me, my wife first of all who always manages to make me stay in the mental state that I need. The team works hard, and to all these people I owe a lot to always be able to keep myself under control".
Among the people who support you, there is also Fabio Quartararo.
"Fabio and I have always supported each other. Now he is going through a difficult moment and I try to support him as he did with me in the past."
You also recently became a father. Crutchlow also began to achieve excellent results after becoming a father.
"The baby has really taken after me, the first five months were really crazy. It's a joy to be a father, and my wife is fantastic too, and allows me to train with my normal routine. It's the best period of my life".
A positive day for your GASGAS Aspar team, which also saw David Alonso triumph in Moto3.
"David is a great rider, his race was extraordinary. I've known him since 2019 and he was already a great talent then. It's a good thing that the Aspar team managed to find such a young talent, I'm sure he will make the Spanish fans proud. I think that young British talents also need to be able to count on this same support from an early age, I arrived late, when I entered Moto3 I was already 23 and I had to gain experience in Moto2 for years".
In 2024 you will again race in Moto2, but the possibility of entering MotoGP hasn't completely faded yet.
"For now I will focus on winning as many races as possible in this championship, then in 2025 when more seats become available in MotoGP we'll see what happens. After all, I arrived late, so one could say that my career is fresher than others - the British rider joked - we'll see what the future holds for us".
