Dixon Opens 2026 Campaign With Challenging Start At Oulton Park

The 2026 Bennetts British Superbike Championship got underway at Oulton Park over the May Bank Holiday weekend, as Kam Dixon returned to the Cheshire circuit for the opening round of the season.

After a productive pre-season across Donington and Oulton, the focus shifted from testing to racing. The groundwork had been laid, and the opening round offered the first real indication of where things stood in a highly competitive Superstock field.

Oulton Park, as ever, provided a stern test. Fast, flowing and unforgiving, it leaves little room for error, particularly across a busy race weekend where track time is limited, and margins are tight.

Saturday’s running began in bright and dry conditions, offering a clean start to the opening day of the weekend.

Kam settled in quickly during FP1, completing 14 laps and building into a rhythm around a circuit that demands confidence from the outset. His best lap of 1:37.437 placed him eighth in class, just 0.013 shy of seventh, with the benchmark time set by the SMS / Nicholl Oil BMW of David Allingham 1.393 ahead.

It was a solid opening session, with a competitive pace and plenty to build on heading into the afternoon.

The second session took place later in the day under equally favourable conditions, with air temperatures just above 17 degrees and track temperatures approaching 27 degrees. With very little wind and strong grip levels, it provided an ideal opportunity to push on.

Kam continued to chip away at his lap time, recording a 1:37.243 as the session entered its closing stages, running inside the top 11. However, with seven minutes remaining, the session was red-flagged following an incident at the Brittens chicane.

After a 23-minute delay, the session resumed, but with limited time remaining and track conditions slightly reset, opportunities to improve were scarce. Kam was unable to better his earlier lap, eventually finishing 13th.

Despite the disruption, the pace across both sessions kept him firmly within range of the top ten, underlining just how fine the margins were.

Overnight rain swept across Oulton Park and continued into Sunday morning, leaving the circuit in a very different state to the conditions seen on Saturday.

By the time the Superstock field headed out for their sole qualifying session of the weekend, the track had dried, but cooler air temperatures of 13.3 degrees and track temperatures below 16 degrees meant grip levels were reduced.

With just one session to decide the grid, there was little room for error.

Kam completed 12 laps, working to find a rhythm on a circuit that felt markedly different to the previous day. A best effort of 1:37.053, a personal best lap time around Oulton Park, placed him 15th on the grid for Monday’s race.

Commenting after the session, Kam said:

“A little bit of a technical issue in qualifying today, but we’re not that far off the pace. It was a personal best lap time for me, even with the issue, and it’s nothing the team can’t sort overnight. It’s far from over.”

Monday’s opening race of the 2026 season took place in cooler conditions once again, with air temperatures at 12.8 degrees and track temperatures just under 19 degrees. A full grid of 39 bikes lined up, underlining the depth of competition in the Superstock class.

Starting from 15th, Kam made a strong launch off the line, gaining a position early on to move into 14th as the field settled into the opening laps.

The race began to take shape from there, with positions tightly contested throughout the midfield. A small error on lap four saw him slip back to 16th, before dropping further to 17th on lap seven and 18th a lap later as the battle intensified.

As the race progressed, Kam began to lose touch slightly with the group ahead after showing a competitive pace early on, although the cause of the drop-off remained unclear.

He did regain a position on lap nine after a rider ahead ran on at Hizzy’s, but the race would soon come to an early conclusion.

Approaching turn six on lap 11, just before the Brittens chicane, Kam experienced a highside moment on entry. He did well to recover the bike initially, but with momentum carrying him forward, he was left with no option but to run on into the barriers, making contact with the foam safety blocks and bringing out the red flag.

He was able to get back to his feet following the incident and was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks.

Commenting after the race, Kam said:

“Well, that sucked.

Not my best qualifying, but I was pretty happy with the result considering I was fighting a bit of a technical issue, which made the bike tricky to ride.

Starting the year with a DNF isn’t ideal, but I’m very lucky to be going home in one piece after a very scary crash. I had a big moment on the way into Brittens, which I managed to save, but once I had the bike back under control, I had nowhere to go except into the bales.

It didn’t go to plan this weekend, but I’m just happy to be leaving safely. Time to rest up and get ready for Donington.”

Attention now turns to Donington Park on 15th - 17th May, where Kam will look to bounce back at Round 2 of the 2026 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.