Rory Skinner: "Jake Dixon has put BSB on GP paddock radar"

Burgeoning Moto2 racer Rory Skinner says he wants to emulate the progress established by countryman Jake Dixon by further establishing the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) as an esteemed path towards competing on the Grand Prix World Championship stage.

The 21-year-old will make his full-time Grand Prix debut in 2023 after penning a two-year deal to compete with American Racing in the Moto2 World Championship.

The move has been preceded by two eye-catching seasons competing in BSB, Skinner scoring podiums in his rookie campaign before going on to qualify for the Title Showdown in 2022 with FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.

Skinner's route to Moto2 emulates that of fellow Briton and former BSB rider Jake Dixon, who made the transition to Moto2 in 2019 after finishing runner-up to Leon Haslam in 2018.

Above: Britain's Jake Dixon

A significant boost for the domestic series, Skinner credits Dixon for ‘opening eyes' towards BSB as a legitimate talent pool for GP teams, an endeavour he is keen to further.

"It's great that Jake's doing what he's doing," Skinner told BikeSocial in an exclusive interview. "What Jake has done is opened the eyes of the grand prix paddock that BSB and the British domestic series can be an actual route into grand prix.

"Jake has not done a bad job. Always in Moto2 he's right up there. It is a case of just learning and taking things slowly. It's not going to happen overnight. I'm aware of that. I'll have to train harder than I ever have trained before."

Above: Rory Skinner in BSB action

Though Dixon endured an initially difficult transition to the grand prix ranks, his fourth Moto2 campaign with the GasGas Aspar this year has yielded a breakthrough with six podiums smoothing his run to sixth in the overall standings.

However, Skinner is optimistic he can hit the ground running more quickly courtesy of his experience competing in the Spanish-based Junior Moto3 World Championship.

"I think maybe the one thing I've got a bit going in my favour more so than Jake is by doing the Red Bull Rookies and the Spanish CEV, I've raced with a lot of these guys before. I understand the race craft going into it. I've been to ten of the 21 tracks already.

"Albeit, it was a while ago and it was on a Moto3, a Red Bull Rookies bike. It's going to be tough, but I think given some time and again having a two-year contract will make a massive difference."