Jake Dixon returned to the podium for the first time in almost two months at MotoGP’s Moto2 Catalan Grand Prix.

The Dover racer managed his rear tyre perfectly on a low-grip track to finish second - 2.5sec behind Aspar’s Daniel Holgado - for his best result since third in the German Grand Prix in July.

There were mixed emotions for the Elf Marc VDS Racing squad, however, after team-mate Filip Salac crashed out on lap nine.

“I’m super happy,” said Dixon. “I had a bit of drought since the Sachsenring without a podium. I’m delighted to be back and I want to thank Marina [Rossi], Patrick [Kramer] and all the guys and girls in my team.

“First and foremost, I hope Filip’s OK because I heard he crashed. We picked up where we left off at Balaton Park [in Hungary and] I’ve had a personnel change.

“I feel much better on the bike now and I’m able to ride in the way that I need to. I don’t think it will be easy from here but we’ve built on the soild base from the last round. Misano is a track where I’ve struggled in the past but I’m happy to go there in good form. Let’s keep this run going and do the same again at the next one.”

Starting from second after an excellent qualifying lap just eight hundredths slower than Holgado, Dixon had a good launch to maintain position. As Holgado broke clear, the Briton was then fighting with Dani Munoz for second throughout the race.

After sitting in third from lap six Dixon took second with a neat turn one pass on the penultimate lap and remains fifth in the championship standings with 152 points ahead of this weekend’s round in Misano, Italy.