Jake Dixon WorldSBK debut delayed further, Honda announces Hungary replacement

Honda has confirmed that Jake Dixon will not ride at the 2026 Hungarian WorldSBK round, further postponing his debut in the championship.

Dixon will be replaced by a new rider at Balaton Park as Yuki Kunii will get his first taste of World Superbike action with HRC.

Kunii could seem like a strange choice on paper, the Japanese rider having had an anonymous season in Moto2 last year, but he is a long-term Honda rider having come through the Asia Talent Cup and his Moto2 ride with Honda Team Asia last year was earned through his title triumph in the Asia Road Race Championship’s Superbike category in 2024.

Kunii has returned to Asia this year to race the All-Japan JSB1000 series, in which he was third at the opening round at Motegi.

Still, it will be a debut WorldSBK round for Kunii at Balaton, a circuit he has experience of from Moto2 last year, although he didn’t finish the race.

Kunii’s arrival in the HRC team brings an end to Jonathan Rea’s run of replacing Dixon, having filled in at both Portimao and Assen for rounds two and three, scoring a total of four points in the six races he lined up for.

The 23-year-old is due to ride alongside Somkiat Chantra. Chantra’s himself missed the Sunday races at Assen due to contusions in his thigh muscles after a crash in FP3.

As for Dixon, his absence from the Hungarian Round means he will have to wait at least another two weeks to make his WorldSBK debut after making the move over from Moto2 last year. His injury problems began at the final preseason test in Australia where he crashed on the second day and sustained left wrist fractures.

The HRC press release confirming Dixon’s absence from the Hungarian Round insists that the British rider’s recovery is “progressing well” despite the amount of time Dixon has had off the bike.

“Jake [Dixon] is already undergoing intensive physiotherapy and using every possible tool to speed up his recovery, including daily sessions in a hyperbaric chamber,” the statement reads.

“Although everything is progressing well on the road to recovery, he is not yet fit to race.”

Dixon’s next chance to make his WorldSBK debut will be the Czech Round at Most on 15–17 May.