Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto
A challenging opening day for Honda HRC at Jerez
Dixon and Chantra complete Friday's free practice sessions fifteenth and seventeenth respectively, with high temperatures at the Spanish circuit.
Riders Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra faced initial setbacks as the final round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship got underway today at Jerez Circuit in Spain. In temperatures that only increased as the day went on, the factory duo completed Friday’s practice sessions in fifteenth and seventeenth place overall.
The first free practice session took place in warm, dry conditions, allowing both riders to begin working with their respective technicians on the setup of their CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP machines. Dixon completed 18 laps, setting a fastest time of 1’39.583 to place twelfth. Teammate Chantra also completed 18 laps, recording a best time of 1’39.656 to finish fourteenth, with just 73 thousandths separating the two Honda HRC riders.
The riders were back on track at 3pm local time for the afternoon's second free practice session, held in significantly hotter conditions, with track temperatures reaching 43°C. Dixon was pushing to improve his lap time when he suffered a crash at turn nine, with around 30 minutes of the session remaining. The action was briefly interrupted by a red flag to allow marshals to check the track conditions, while Jake, fortunately unhurt, returned to the team garage and ultimately did not return to the track. This meant his afternoon session was limited to just seven laps, during which he recorded a best time of 1’39.767.
Chantra, meanwhile, continued working with his team to complete 23 laps and set a fastest time of 1’39.841. Like many other riders, neither Dixon nor Chantra improved on their FP1 benchmarks in the hotter afternoon conditions, leaving them fifteenth and seventeenth respectively in the combined standings at the end of the day.
Honda HRC will now prepare for Saturday's Superpole qualifying session and the first 20-lap race of the weekend.
Jake Dixon 96 Honda HRC
“Not the Friday we wanted, to be honest. We had a fair bit of work to do after FP1, and this afternoon I was pushing to improve my lap time when I had a pretty big crash at turn nine. It was a fast one, but luckily I'm fine, though obviously I'm not happy about it. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the end of my session, so we missed out on some valuable track time and didn't get the chance to try everything we wanted. We're still struggling to find the pace we need, and it's frustrating because I know we're capable of more. The team is working hard, and we'll sit down together tonight, look at the data and see what we can do to improve things for tomorrow. It's the last round of the season, and I definitely want to finish it on a positive note.”
Somkiat Chantra 35 Honda HRC
“We worked a lot on bike setup during today’s two practices. Right from the start, I was struggling with the front-end feeling, as the front tended to close on me. In the afternoon, we tried to adapt and made some setup changes, but unfortunately we weren’t able to find much of an improvement. Hopefully, we can solve this problem tomorrow and improve on our lap times.”
