What now for Dixon and McPhee
Sepang Racing move to provide Jake Dixon more support, so is he heading to MotoGP?
‘Second time in 10 months I’ve been let down’
The British Grand Prix landscape has been significantly changed with Jake Dixon being pushed closer to the promised land at John McPhee’s expense.
Both have endured tough seasons, yet the Petronas/Sepang Racing Team chose to move McPhee’s renowned crew chief Mark Woodage into Dixon’s garage for the German GP. McPhee’s data technician Daniel Bonmati, despite no experience, had to step in as a result. It’s another nail in the coffin for McPhee’s already fragile rider-team relationship. “I’m disappointed in the management and the team for what they’ve done,” McPhee told BT Sport. “It’s the second time in 10 months I’ve been let down; the first one being that they didn’t honour my Moto2 contract last year. I’ve been left with the short end of the stick once again. It’s a fantastic opportunity being in the team but with there being so many riders and people to please, unfortunately I seem to be the one that’s got the short straw.”
On the flip side, Dixon’s performance improved instantly. Having struggled to deliver results, he was inside the top 10 before colliding with Augusto Fernandez and dropping to 21st. It’s clear now that Petronas are providing Dixon with all their support and if the rumours are true, he could be representing the UK in MotoGP next year. Some will question whether that’s the right call as Dixon hasn’t exactly lit up the intermediate class. However, we shouldn’t underestimate Petronas and team director Johan Stigefelt and management mastermind Wilco Zelenberg. They were instrumental in bringing Fabio Quartararo to MotoGP, to the surprise of many, after seeing something special in him through his race data.
Perhaps the Petronas management duo have seen something in Dixon. As Quartararo has proved, you don’t always need to be a top Moto2 rider to be successful in MotoGP. The big bike will suit Dixon’s size and riding style, and he certainly knew how to race a 200bhp★ Superbike in BSB.
Has McPhee been mistreated? His season looks bad on paper, but McPhee has had terrible luck. He’s been taken out multiple times, started from pit-lane and even had to avoid another incident on Sunday which dropped him down to 11th when he had been leading at one stage. The problem is that he’s had several years to put together a challenge and it hasn’t happened. That doesn’t mean that McPhee doesn’t deserve a shot in Moto2, and you’d like to believe a team will see that. But it won’t be Petronas, if Dixon is promoted, Darryn Binder will be the likely replacement. It’s crunch time for McPhee’s GP career.