Jake Dixon says deputising for Honda’s Joan Mir in MotoGP last weekend was “a great experience”.

Dixon, riding for the senior team at the Qatar Grand Prix, scored his first two MotoGP points in his first race in motorcycling’s top tier since the British Grand Prix in 2021.

After an injury-hit year in World Superbikes came to an end in Jerez last month, Dixon’s thoughts had turned to 2027, but he answered the call last week after Mir pulled out of the race following spells of fatigue and dizziness.

The Dover rider was due to partner Luca Marini, but he withdrew from the main race, also complaining of fatigue, leaving Dixon as the sole factory rider.

“First I have to say thank you to everyone in HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and the Honda HRC Castrol team for all they have done this weekend,” Dixon said after a 16th-place sprint finish and 14th spot in the race. Marc Marquez topped the sprint podium, with Marco Bezzecchi winning the grand prix.

“Everyone here has been incredible to help me improve each and every session. It’s great to get points on our debut, more than I could have hoped for when I was on the plane over here.”

After qualifying 17th for the main race and a two-place promotion following the withdrawal of his teammate and Francesco Bagnaia, Dixon made an aggressive start to pass both Iker Lecuona and Franco Morbidelli into the first corner.

Latching on to the back of his fellow WorldSBK regular, Dixon and Lecuona tried to break away from Maverick Vinales and Morbidelli.

Lap four would see Dixon lose contact with the group after running wide at turn one. He kept his head down and matched the pace of those ahead of him, with fading duo Diogo Moreira and Brad Binder promoting Dixon into the points.

“I went wide at turn one during the opening laps of the race and I lost contact with the group,” Dixon said.

“Honestly, I was annoyed about it because when I looked at the times after the race I would have been able to stay with those guys.

“Seventy-four laps is all we had this weekend, that’s what these riders usually do in a single day of testing, so we really need to be happy and enjoy this moment - what a great experience it has been. It’s all gone too quickly!”

If Dixon gets called up again the next round is the Portuguese Grand Prix on November 20-22.