Dixon Ends National Superstock Campaign At Brands Hatch Ahead Of British Superbike Move

Kam Dixon concluded his 2026 Pirelli National Superstock Championship campaign with a ninth-place finish and a retirement at Brands Hatch, bringing an eventful final weekend to a close just days after announcing his move to the British Superbike Championship with Fireworks Racing for 2027.

The season finale at the Kent circuit saw Dixon demonstrate some of his strongest pace of the year, running sixth and challenging for a place inside the top five during Saturday's opening race before a technical problem compromised his result. Sunday's concluding race proved considerably more difficult, with heavy rain and a chaotic start leaving him towards the back of the field before he elected to retire.

Arriving at Brands Hatch following an encouraging double top-ten finish at Donington Park, Dixon was looking to maintain the progress made during the second half of the season. The weekend also carried additional significance following Thursday's announcement that he would join the newly formed Fireworks Racing team aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10RR for his first full British Superbike campaign in 2027.

Preparations for the final round were disrupted almost immediately, with persistent heavy rain throughout Friday morning causing considerable disruption to the timetable. The conditions were particularly poor when the National Superstock riders were scheduled to begin their opening Free Practice session at 11:20am, prompting Dixon and several other leading competitors to remain in the garage.

By the afternoon, conditions had improved sufficiently for meaningful running, although Dixon was left with just one practice session to familiarise himself with the 2.433-mile Grand Prix circuit ahead of qualifying. He completed 15 laps during Free Practice 2, recording a best time of 1:27.925 to finish seventh fastest, 1.289 seconds behind Luke Mossey.

The performance provided an early indication of his improvement compared with the corresponding event twelve months earlier. In October 2025, Dixon had finished Friday practice 23rd fastest with a 1:28.685, meaning he was already 0.760 seconds quicker despite completing considerably fewer laps.

Further progress followed in Saturday morning's qualifying session, where Dixon improved to a 1:27.380 to secure ninth position and a place on the third row of the grid. His fastest lap came on his eighth of 13 completed, leaving him just 0.018 seconds behind Carl Phillips in eighth and 1.183 seconds away from David Allingham's pole position time.

It also represented a significant improvement on his qualifying performance at Brands Hatch the previous October, when he had started 16th.

With conditions remaining dry for Saturday afternoon's 15-lap race, Dixon made a strong getaway from ninth on the grid. Declan Connell had been wheeled away before the warm-up lap, while Dixon negotiated the opening exchanges to move ahead of Ash Beech and Ash Barnes, completing the first lap in seventh position.

Dixon quickly settled into a closely contested battle with Tom Oliver, remaining within half a second of his fellow Honda rider throughout the opening stages. At the end of lap two, just 0.458 seconds separated the pair, with the gap remaining largely unchanged as the race approached its fourth lap.

Further ahead, Allingham and Mossey were engaged in an increasingly intense battle for the lead, with the championship title at stake. Mossey eventually found a way past at Paddock Hill Bend, although the contest would take another turn during the closing stages.

By lap six, Dixon and Oliver had both capitalised on a mistake from Simon Reid, allowing Dixon to move into sixth position. He continued to apply pressure to Oliver, with just 0.279 seconds separating them at the end of lap seven, and was looking for an opportunity to challenge for fifth as the race approached its latter stages.

However, Dixon's progress was interrupted by a technical problem which resulted in a significant loss of engine power. Having spent much of the race closely matched with Oliver, he began losing ground to the riders ahead and became increasingly vulnerable to those recovering from behind.

Beech, who had been working his way back through the field following a difficult start, moved ahead on lap ten. Reid subsequently recovered another position at Dixon's expense, before Barnes also came through during the final lap.

Despite the loss of power, Dixon managed to nurse the Honda to the chequered flag in ninth position, salvaging another championship points finish from a race which had initially promised considerably more.

At the front, Allingham reclaimed the lead after Mossey sat up exiting Hawthorn on lap eleven. Allingham went on to secure victory ahead of Mossey and Billy McConnell, a result which also confirmed him as the 2026 Pirelli National Superstock Champion.

Reflecting on Saturday's performance, Dixon remained encouraged by the competitiveness he had demonstrated before the technical issue intervened.

"It was a technical problem in today's race. I was running sixth and waiting for my moment to challenge for fifth when the bike developed an issue," he explained.

"We lost a lot of power, but I managed to keep it inside the top ten and bring it home ninth. There were plenty of positives despite the problem, and we were looking forward to having another go on Sunday."

Sunday morning brought further encouragement as Dixon finished fifth fastest in Warm Up, completing six laps and recording a 1:28.084 on his final circulation. He was just 0.042 seconds behind McConnell in fourth and ahead of several riders he had been battling during Saturday's race, including Reid, Oliver and Beech.

However, the weather remained a significant concern throughout the day. Intermittent showers had threatened proceedings from the morning onwards, and by the time the National Superstock field assembled for the final race of the season, heavier rain had arrived.

Conditions deteriorated considerably as the riders prepared to leave the grid, with the race set to take place on a thoroughly wet circuit. It was an unfamiliar challenge for Dixon, who had not contested a wet race throughout the 2026 campaign.

There was drama even before the start, as Mossey returned to the paddock with an apparent technical problem while the field completed the first of two warm-up laps. Although the rain briefly eased as the riders returned to their grid positions, conditions remained extremely difficult.

Dixon lined up ninth, but his hopes of another competitive finish were dealt an immediate blow when Reid lost control and crashed directly ahead of him during a chaotic start. Forced to take avoiding action, Dixon lost considerable ground and found himself down in 19th position by the end of the opening lap.

Connell's crash from the lead on lap two moved Dixon up another position, but by then he had already lost contact with the group he had expected to race against. Struggling to establish a rhythm in the treacherous conditions, he found himself several seconds behind Max Lofthouse ahead, with the gap continuing to increase during the opening half of the race.

Although Dixon improved his lap times as the race progressed, eventually recording a best of 1:43.688 on lap seven, he remained well outside the points-scoring positions and was unable to recover the ground lost during the opening exchanges.

With little prospect of securing a meaningful result and conditions continuing to present considerable risks, Dixon elected to return to the pits after completing seven laps, bringing his final National Superstock appearance to a premature conclusion.

McConnell went on to claim victory in the rain-affected 12-lap race, finishing 2.787 seconds ahead of Oliver, with Matt Truelove completing the podium. Newly crowned champion Allingham finished eighth, while Mossey was unable to take the start.

Although Sunday's retirement brought a disappointing conclusion to the weekend, Dixon's performance on Saturday had provided further evidence of the improvements made throughout the campaign. His ability to run competitively inside the top six, following his double top-ten finish at Donington Park, demonstrated the progress made in closing the gap to the leading riders.

The contrast with his previous appearance at Brands Hatch was particularly notable. Twelve months earlier, Dixon had qualified 16th and finished 16th and 17th in the two races he contested. This time, he had qualified on the third row, fought for a potential top-five finish and secured another top-ten result despite encountering a technical problem.

Saturday's ninth-place finish added 14 championship points to his tally, taking him to 80 points for the season. With Sunday's retirement bringing no further addition, Dixon concluded the 2026 Pirelli National Superstock Championship 13th overall, nine points ahead of Ian Hutchinson.

The weekend also marked the conclusion of an important chapter in Dixon's racing career, with attention now turning to his preparations for the 2027 British Superbike Championship.

Having announced his move to Fireworks Racing ahead of the Brands Hatch finale, Dixon will join the Norfolk-based team's inaugural campaign aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10RR, continuing his established working relationship with crew chief Sam Palmer.

Team Principal Derek Killaspy, who has supported Dixon's racing career for the past two years, will oversee the team's championship entry, with preparations for the new season set to begin in the coming weeks.

While the final race at Brands Hatch ended earlier than anticipated, Dixon leaves the Superstock class having demonstrated increasingly competitive pace during the latter stages of 2026, with his performances at Donington Park and Brands Hatch providing an encouraging foundation for the challenges ahead.

The focus now shifts to his first full British Superbike campaign, as Dixon and Fireworks Racing prepare to embark on the next stage of his racing career.