Neil Hodgson column: Why British riders like Jake Dixon face uphill battle to reach MotoGP

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Neil Hodgson explains in his exclusive TNT Sports column why British riders like Jake Dixon face a more difficult route to the top tier of motorcycle racing, MotoGP. He also applauds Dixon's decision to move to WorldSBK at the end of the season and delves into the psychology of motorcycle riders amid two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia's struggles for form.

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Neil Hodgson is providing expert insight to TNT Sports throughout the MotoGP season.

In his latest column, he explains why British motorcycle riders can be late bloomers - and how that impacts their chances of reaching MotoGP.

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Jake Dixon is leaving at the end of the season to go to WorldSBK. I think it’s a really smart move.

The reality for him is that it’s been seven seasons in Moto2, and he never quite got the opportunity to move up to MotoGP. The problem is, if you end up stuck in Moto2 like he has been, it’s a really difficult Championship.

There are a few reasons for that. First of all, in that Championship, three or four fast Moto3 riders usually come in every year. They are really fast anyway, so it doesn’t take them long to figure out how to ride a Moto2 bike, and before you know it, they’re beating you. That’s always a tricky one.

Also, one of the problems with Moto2 is that it’s not backed by manufacturers. There is no Honda or Yamaha in there; it’s basically a Championship that’s funded by the teams. The money is not good.

An absolute top earner in Moto2 will earn £200,000 a year, while in WorldSBK a top earner will earn well over £1 million a year. Obviously, a top earner in MotoGP can earn much more. Marc Marquez’s next contract is for £15m a year. Fabio Quartararo is on £12m a year at Yamaha right now. So, £200,000 a year isn’t a lot of money when you think about how tough the Championship is.

One of the reasons Jake didn’t get an opportunity in MotoGP is because they are always looking for the next young sensation. Jake’s going to be 30 next year, so even when he started in Moto2, he was almost too old. Unless he won the Championship in his first two years, he was never likely to get an opportunity.

I feel sorry for him, really. Jake should have got the chance to go into MotoGP, in my opinion, and I think he would have done really well. It’s got to the point now where there is no point in doing another year, season number eight, in Moto2.

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He might as well move into WorldSBK. If you look at Alvaro Bautista, who is there now, he’s 40, while Jonny Rea, who is going to retire at the end of the year, is 38.

It makes sense. Jake can move into the WorldSBK Championship, earn decent money as a factory rider, and race there for another six or seven years.

This is why we have no Brits in MotoGP. Some British riders have been fortunate where they’ve come from a wealthy family, their parents have moved to Spain at a young age, and they have been able to do it the Spanish way.

But the majority of British riders, and Jake is one of them, come from a normal family. He’s worked his way up the ladder of British Championship racing, racing on a 600, on a British Superbike.

But the tracks in England are really grippy and cold in general. When you eventually work your way out of British Championship racing and come to Europe for the first time, you race on tracks where the ambient temperature is in the 30s and the track temperature is 60 degrees.

The track feels like it’s greasy, it’s like riding on ice. It’s the opposite of what you think. You have to relearn the feeling and sensation, and that’s why it takes British riders longer in World Championship racing.

If you’re a young 13-year-old Spanish rider now, you’re riding around a track in Spain and the track temperature is 50 degrees plus. The sensations you’re getting through the bike, you’re learning your skills.

That is why I always say British riders are like a fine wine. It takes them longer to mature. Normally, the Brits are in their prime between 27 and 35, that’s the sweet spot. When you look in general at your fast Spaniards and Italians, they are in their prime between 22 and 28. It’s weird, but that’s how it has always been.

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I think Jake will find a really nice home in WorldSBK because he’s clearly a very talented rider. With all the experience he’s got now from Moto2, I think he will find he’s in a position to fight at the front straight away.

Also, it’s only a 12-round Championship, it’s like part-time racing. When you compare it to MotoGP and Moto2, they have 22 rounds, of which eight of them are long haul. In WorldSBK, you’ve got one long-haul flight at the start of the year in Australia, which is a beautiful track, and you go there in the summer, and the rest is in Europe.

Essentially, without being crude, Jake is going to earn three times more money than he’s ever earned, race half the amount of time and be in a Championship that I don’t think he will find easy, because nothing is easy, but nothing is as hard as Moto2.

Self-confidence is everything for struggling Bagnaia

Ducati put out some behind-the-scenes footage of Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez in the back of a car. Pecco was talking to Marc, saying: ‘Every time I ride the bike, I lose more confidence.’

It was really sad to see that, because it’s one thing feeling that, or saying it to your wife or your team, but to say it to your team-mate, it is almost disturbing.

This sport has always been about beating your team-mate. You’ve always got to beat your team-mate; it’s your direct comparison on the same bike. You never show weakness to your team-mates, so to see that, and for Ducati to put it out, surprised me.

I’m hoping this is rock bottom for the two-time MotoGP champion. Pecco Bagnaia is an incredible motorcycle racer. I would love to have had half the talent he has got.

When you see someone struggle so much, I find it disturbing. It’s not a good watch. It’s like watching one of your favourite football players who suddenly can’t score. That’s where Pecco is right now.

Let’s hope last weekend was rock bottom. Now he’s come to his home circuit at Misano, a place where he trains a lot, knows every bump and all the secrets. Let’s hope this is the turning point in his season.

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In all professional sports, psychology is everything. It doesn’t matter what sport. It can be golf, football, tennis, anything. We watch champions go through periods of success, and then they will lose some form and all of a sudden, they can’t win again.

If you think about it, they’ve not really changed. They can still swing a golf club, they can still putt, but you lose that self-confidence, that inner belief. What’s different with motorcycle racing is that it’s fast and scary and can hurt you. You have to throw that into the mix.

When you are racing, you’re not thinking of the danger because you feel confident and at one with your bike. But when you lose that relationship, it doesn’t feel like your bike, the bike doesn’t react how you want it to, then all of a sudden, it’s like it speeds everything up.

These riders do over 220 mph, but it doesn’t feel that fast. It actually feels slow, like 100mph. But when you lose your confidence, it feels like you’re doing 320mph.

That’s the worst feeling, because you can have a bit of a scare on the track. You don’t say anything to your team or that you’ve been scared, but that creeps into motorcycle racing. That’s what makes our sport different to any other.

The psychology of a champion is on a level across most sports, but with motorcycle racing, I feel like a rider’s self-confidence is even more important.

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