Honda has confirmed Jake Dixon as Joan Mir’s replacement for the Qatar Grand Prix. The British rider, who now competes in HRC’s WorldSBK programme, will return to the MotoGP paddock on the factory RC213V, sharing Honda’s garage with Luca Marini at Lusail.

The change follows Mir’s attempted return at Sepang. He had been dealing with fatigue-related vision problems, but pulled out halfway through the Grand Prix after the dizziness came back. Honda has therefore turned to a rider already working within its racing organisation for the Qatar event.

A second MotoGP opportunity

Dixon has two previous MotoGP starts, both with Petronas Yamaha SRT in 2021 while he was racing in Moto2. He will now pursue his first premier-class points on Honda machinery. Dixon says the weekend needs a measured approach: some time has passed since he last rode a MotoGP bike, so he plans to build his pace step by step. He also described the factory Honda opportunity as the kind of chance every rider dreams about.

His record includes seven Moto2 race wins between 2019 and 2025. Injury disrupted a large part of his rookie WorldSBK season, during which sixth place was his best result. The Lusail appearance gives Dixon a direct return to MotoGP, with the factory RC213V and Marini providing the immediate benchmark in Honda’s garage.