That said, here is a wild twist for the upcoming MOTUL Grand Prix of Japan. Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) is heading straight back into the MotoGP paddock. He is taking over a replacement ride for Honda HRC Castrol rider Joan Mir.
Unfortunately, the Spanish MotoGP rider has been dealing with persistent health issues. These troubles forced him to retire from both the San Marino GP and the most recent Austrian GP. As he undergoes further testing to find the root cause, he has been ruled out of competition in Japan, which is what opens the door for the Thai rider's return.
Thankfully, the circuit holds some seriously good memories for him. Chantra grabbed his second Moto2 win at the Mobility Resort Motegi back in 2023. That performance built nicely on a P5 finish in Japan in the same category a season prior. Looking even further back during his time in the Asia Talent Cup, he took sixth in 2014, followed by P6 and P4 two seasons later in the same class.
Most recently, in his 2025 rookie MotoGP season, he made history as the first-ever Thai MotoGP rider. While riding with Honda LCR, he bagged one of his five point-scoring results there, tying his second-best result of the season with a P15 finish aboard the Honda RC213V machine.
Catch Chantra on-track this weekend at Cremona, with the action kicking off on Friday, September 25th!
