Somkiat Chantra was left much happier with his Japanese MotoGP weekend at Motegi than the entirety of his difficult 2025 campaign. Reporting from Crash.net, the Thai rider stepped in to replace Joan Mir within the factory Honda HRC squad after the 2020 world champion was forced to sit out due to ongoing illness following the Misano round in mid-September.
The weekend marked Somkiat Chantra's first appearance in the premier class since transitioning to WorldSBK at the end of last year. His sole full-time MotoGP season in 2025 proved immensely tough, marred by injuries that forced him to miss several Grands Prix, managing a best result of only 13th and accumulating a meager seven points throughout the entire year.
His subsequent move to WorldSBK also faced early turbulence as injuries hampered the first half of his season—mirroring similar struggles faced by his teammate Jake Dixon. Even after regaining full fitness, the Thai competitor struggled to consistently feature inside the top ten of the Superbike standings.
Stepping back into the MotoGP paddock in Japan provided an immediate positive turnaround as he fought into the points during Sunday's Grand Prix. Securing 15th place marked a solid return aboard the factory Honda machine and his first competitive outing on Michelin tires in just over ten months.
"I'm so happy. Compared to last year, this year I was much, much happier. Even I got three points, but I feel it was quite amazing because this time, even though I came for a replacement ride, I feel like I had a chance," expressed Somkiat Chantra after the chequered flag.
The rider noted that the bike's baseline set-up required virtually no fundamental changes from the very first practice session. "When I tried the bike on the FP1, I come, I take the bike, I go out, and when I come back, I say to the team 'The bike, everything was correct, I don't need to change anything', because the power, the traction, the engine brake was working well," he concluded.
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