Jake Dixon, the youngest MCE British Superbike showdown rider ever, will remain with the Lee Hardy Racing team for the 2018 season.

Dixon had a taste of Superbike action last year before injury ruled him out of contention, but he remained with the squad who returned with Kawasaki power in 2017 and he was instantly battling out with the other more established riders.

The young-gun secured his first win of his BSB career at Knockhill this year and then went on to follow it up by doing the double, before securing his place inside the top six at Silverstone.

“It is brilliant for me to sign again with the team for next year. I had a few offers for next season but as a team we have a great relationship and it has worked so well this year that I didn’t want to change that. I feel that whatever happens this year, we can go into the first round in 2018 ready to fight for wins from the start, and that is exciting because we will start in a really good position,” said Dixon.

“At the end of the day, our goal was to make the Showdown this year as it was my first full season in Superbike and we have done that. I have no pressure on me and I am going to do the best job I possibly can for the team in these last three rounds. The pressure at the moment is on Shakey, Leon and Josh and I am the youngest rider so I have less expectation on me right now. I am going to be giving it everything though so those boys shouldn’t expect it to be easy in the Showdown.

Team Owner Lee Hardy added: “I am delighted to retain Jake for the 2018 season and this has been my aim from around the midpoint of this year. We are now in a good position with sponsors ahead of the 2018 season and all of our partners are very pleased to have Jake on board again after an incredible year so far.

“2017 was always going to be a challenge as the team swapped to Kawasaki machinery which was a whole new project for us, but the change has proved to be the right move. We had a tough start to the season however this was quickly addressed. We bought Glen Richards into the team along with a new data technician and chassis technician which helped to transform our small team.

“We won our first MCE BSB race back in 2014 and the next win has been a long while coming. Knockhill was an amazing weekend and achieving the double race win was the turning point of our season. Podiums are now a reality at every track and achieving the Showdown this year is just something else.

“Continuity counts for a lot in this sport and confidence is very important, heading into the new season means we can really start next year as we aim to finish this year; pushing some of the bigger teams for those top positions and giving Jake the platform to showcase his talent.”