Qatar GP: Dixon and Lecuona step in from WorldSBK
Jake Dixon replaces Joan Mir at Honda and Iker Lecuona replaces Alex Marquez at Gresini, as Marc Marquez gets his first match point at Lusail.
2 min readLusailQatarBy PitPin Desk
Dixon on the factory Honda
Honda HRC Castrol confirmed on 5 November that Jake Dixon will replace Joan Mir at the Qatar Grand Prix. Mir came back at Sepang last weekend but withdrew from the Malaysian Grand Prix and is recovering at home. Dixon will ride alongside Luca Marini.
Dixon races a CBR1000RR-R SP for Honda HRC in WorldSBK. His 2026 season was disrupted by injury, and after he returned to fitness in the second half of the year he took five top-10 finishes. He spent seven years in the Grand Prix paddock from 2019 to 2025, with seven wins and 22 podiums in Moto2. His only MotoGP starts were two races in 2021, with a best of 19th at Silverstone. He said it has been "a little bit" since he last raced a MotoGP bike, so they need to take the weekend steady and go step by step.
Lecuona back at Gresini
Alex Marquez had surgery after the Malaysian GP, and Gresini hopes to have him back in Portugal. Iker Lecuona, who rides for Aruba.it Racing Ducati in WorldSBK, takes his place on the Desmosedici. He has already stood in for Gresini several times this year. Fermin Aldeguer returns for Gresini after surgery on the right hand he broke on lap 2 of the Indonesian GP.
Match point at Lusail
Qatar is round 20, with three Grands Prix left in 2026. Marc Marquez leaves Lusail as champion if he outscores Jorge Martin by 30 points and Marco Bezzecchi by 8 points.