Dirt bike fan Jake Dixon – who regularly joins the MotoHead crew riding at Sellindge in Kent -has signed to race for the factory GasGas team in the Moto2 class in the world road race championship next season. Check out his action on a dirt bike with our own Dave Willet during lockdown!
After just one year in MotoGP competition and with wins for both Moto3 riders Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara, the GASGAS Aspar Team will not only count on the skills of the superb Spanish duo for 2022 but will amplify their arsenal with heavily branded GASGAS machinery in the formative Moto2 division. GASGAS’ first exploration of the fiercely competitive intermediate category means some serious firepower had to come into the pitbox: the Aspar crew were able to secure the proven talent of Albert Arenas and blossoming Moto2 racer Jake Dixon.
GASGAS are pumped to rely on their own ‘GG’ – Garcia and Guevara – again next season. Garcia (18, years old, three terms in GPs) was in the hunt for the 2021 Moto3 championship until his unfortunate spill in practice for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas relegated him to the sidelines with a kidney injury. Rookie Guevara (17) immediately stepped up to the plate and hit a home run in Texas for his maiden victory. Overall, the pair brought home six podiums as the GASGAS RC 250 GP became a regular sight at the peak of the pack.
The surge into Moto2 allows the GASGAS Aspar Team to chase glory on two fronts. 2020 Moto3 World Champ, Albert Arenas (24), has signed on for his second crack at the class after using 2021 as valuable learning year. The Spaniard has been acclimatising to the increased power, the extra set-up options and delicate racecraft for the series that is the last staging point before entry to MotoGP. Arenas will have the experience of Jake Dixon next to him in the garage.
The 25-year-old Brit has totalled three seasons of Moto2 racing and has edged nearer and nearer the rostrum; he even made his first appearances in MotoGP midway through 2021 as a replacement rider. In anticipation of the full line-up for 2022, the Moto2 wing of the GASGAS Aspar Team will already take to the track at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit for the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana – the last MotoGP showdown in 2021 – in GASGAS colours!
Sergio Garcia: “Apart from the injury I think we had a really good season and I’m really happy with how the year has gone. With our experience and our work in 2021 with the GASGAS Aspar Team, I’m sure we will be able to give everything again next year and fight for good results as well as the championship.”
Izan Guevara: “I’m really happy to have another year with the GASGAS Aspar Team. I feel really comfortable with the crew, we work really well and we managed to take a win in our first season. Next season we’ll keep on pushing for top results. We will be able to count on a year of learning in the world championship as well as the connection with GASGAS, so we’ll be able to start next season strong right from the beginning.”
Albert Arenas: “I’m really pumped about this projectand to continue another year with the GASGAS Aspar Team, a winning squad and we were champions together. I’m looking forward to again achieving success with them. We will have a new bike and with the support of a brand like GASGAS, I’m really excited and motivated to try the new package. I want to have a strong pre-season and – with a year of experience in Moto2 – reach my full potential, fight for the best results and enjoy the races. I want to thank Jorge Martínez Aspar for this opportunity and GASGAS: I’m so happy to have another year in this set-up and structure.”
Jake Dixon: “It’s great to be back with Aspar and the GASGAS team for 2022. Returning to the team feels like coming home and to keep with familiar equipment is another plus. I’m already excited to know what we can do next season and I cannot thank the team enough for the opportunity. I hope we can do great things together.”
Jorge Aspar Martinez, Team Principal: “The GASGAS Aspar Team in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes as well as the FIM CEV series is a big challenge for us. We’re very happy to be an official team for this ambitious and hungry project created by GASGAS. We don’t have any other objective apart from continuing to develop and to fight for the world championshipin whatever division we’re competing.”
Pit Beirer, GASGAS Motorsports Director: “2021 has been a very strong season for the GASGAS brand and it’s what we hoped and expected from such a strong team like the Aspar boys. We have full trust that they can push for a first Moto3 title next year but being able to increase GASGAS presence to Moto2 with them was a a clear-cut decision for us. We know Albert will be more familiar with Moto2 for 2022 and Jake is a rider that is on the edge of producing something special in the class. We hope to see much more ‘red’ on both podiums.”