Dover’s Jake Dixon was less than a second from victory in a close-fought Moto2 battle at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Elf Marc VDS racing rider finished fourth at Balaton Park, 0.8sec behind winner David Alonso, but was the star of the early laps with a spectacular pass around the outside of turn two giving him the lead after lights out.

Dixon kept his advantage until lap four, but when a mistake gave Diogo Moreira a run at him the Brazilian went through, and he dropped to third two laps later when Spain’s Manuel Gonzalez got by.

A podium finish slipped from Dixon’s grasp with four laps left when former Aspar Team stablemate Alonso got past on his way to a victory with a final-lap move on Moreira, but Dixon’s close finish kept him fifth in the standings on 132 points.

“It was nice to lead a Moto2 race again after so long,” said Dixon. “Honestly, I felt a bit out of sorts when I was leading. It felt new again!

“From where we were just a week ago, we really needed to get that race under our belts and get a race’s worth of data so we can fine-tune that going into the next races. I just want to say a massive thanks to the team.

“OK, I didn’t get on the podium today but to be 0.8sec from victory wasn’t bad. I’m happy enough. There are things we need to fine-tune for the next one, but this was a really good day.”

Dixon’s team-mate Filip Salac finished eighth as the championship moves on to Catalonia on September 5-7.