Britain’s Jake Dixon has this morning been confirmed as the second rider in the Petronas Sprinta Moto2 setup and will campaign Kalex machinery alongside Xavi Vierge.

Dixon joined Moto2 this year in the Nieto KTM squad but it has proven to be a tough ask with setup difficulties heaped on top of track learning.

The former British Superbike runner-up will now have a season under his belt and will be in the same boat as everyone else on a Friday as he will know which to turn at the end of pitlane.

“Obviously I’m super-excited to be riding for the Petronas team next year, it’s such a great team, you only have to look at what they are achieving in their first year in MotoGP,” Dixon told bikesportnews.com from a Phuket beach.

“This has been an outstanding year for them and now they want to expand with two riders in Moto2 and I will have an experienced team-mate in Xavi Vierge so I can learn a lot from him.

To be riding on the Kalex as well will be excellent and I can’t wait for that after a super-tough year in 2019 on the KTM. I honestly believe the Kalex will make me better for the upcoming season.

“This year has been all about learning new tracks, how the paddock works and how the bikes react to situations. It’s been difficult but I didn’t think it was going to be any other way.

“It’s the opportunity of lifetime now so I am going to work extremely hard at it. I don’t know what the targets will be until I try out the bike, and I’ll start the season just taking it race by race.

“I’ll know what’s possible after testing, but now that I’ve got an amazing team behind me I want to be fighting for podiums by the end of the season.”