Somkiat Chantra

Somkiat Chantra (; born 15 December 1998) is a Thai motorcycle racer who is contracted to compete in the Superbike World Championship for Honda HRC. Chantra previously competed for Idemitsu Honda LCR during the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, becoming the first Thai rider to compete at the highest level of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Chantra is also a two-time race winner in Moto2, in which he competed for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia between 2019 and 2024.

Chantra is the second Asia Talent Cup graduate to debut in MotoGP after Ai Ogura, both starting from the 2025 MotoGP season.

Career Early career Coming through the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup ranks, Chantra gained fame by becoming the champion in 2016. He competed in the 2017 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, and qualified on pole position in the season opener, but crashed out of the race. He would finish eighth in Le Mans, 13th in Jerez, seventh in Aragon, and tenth in Valencia, finishing the season 20th overall, with 26 points. He stayed in the 2018 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, and was a constant finisher in the high points scoring places, but could not score a podium, his season's best result a fourth place in France. He ended the year ninth in the standings, with 61 total points.

Moto3 World Championship Chantra was given a wild-card race appearance as his debut in Grand Prix racing, in the 2018 Thailand motorcycle Grand Prix, his home GP. He seized his chance, crossing the line in ninth place, scoring a brilliant seven points, and earning himself a full-time ride for next season.

Moto2 World Championship Idemitsu Honda Team Asia (2019–2024)

Racing full time for Honda Asia Team again in 2020, Chantra struggled to reproduce what he did last season, scoring points in just two races, ending the season with ten points. His teammate was Izdihar for the whole year, who scored no points.

Chantra had a bounce-back 2021 season, and so did the Honda Asia Team. Chantra scored 37 points throughout the year, his highest finish coming in Austria, where rookie teammate Ai Ogura came in second place, and Chantra in fifth, scoring a season-high in points for the team.

MotoGP World Championship LCR Honda (2025)

On 29 August 2024, it was announced that Chantra would replace Takaaki Nakagami in the LCR Honda squad for the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, being the first Thai rider ever to sign a MotoGP contract. Chantra struggled during the early races of 2025, and he was sidelined following the Spanish Grand Prix after an arm pump surgery. He suffered a collateral ligament injury in his right knee after off-road training on 1 July 2025. Subsequently, Chantra, who managed to score his first point at the Dutch TT, missed the German, Czech, and Austrian rounds of the championship.

At the end of September, Chantra was announced to be departing the team and MotoGP following the conclusion of the season, being replaced by Diogo Moreira.

Superbike World Championship Honda HRC (2026-) On 30 September 2025, it was announced that Chantra would move to the Superbike World Championship with the Honda HRC team for the 2026 season alongside Jake Dixon.

Career statistics Asia Talent Cup

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts 2014 Honda QAT IDN CHN1 CHN2 MAL1 MAL2 JAP MYS1 MYS2 11th 50 2015 Honda THA1 THA2 QAT1 QAT2 MAL1 MAL2 CHN1 CHN2 JPN1 JPN2 SEP1 SEP2 12th 61 2016 Honda THA1 THA2 QAT1 QAT2 MAL1 MAL2 CHN1 CHN2 JPN1 JPN2 SEP1 SEP2 1st 178

FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts 2017 Honda ALB LMS CAT1 CAT2 VAL1 VAL2 EST JER1 JER1 ARA VAL1 VAL2 20th 26 2018 Honda EST VAL1 VAL2 FRA CAT1 CAT2 ARA JER1 JER2 ALB VAL1 VAL2 9th 61

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Half points awarded as less than half of the race distance (but at least three full laps) was completed.

Superbike World Championship Races by season Season Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd Honda CBR1000RR Honda HRC 15 0 0 0 0 5* 21st* Total 15 0 0 0 0 5

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 Honda AUS AUS AUS POR POR POR NED NED NED HUN HUN HUN CZE CZE CZE ARA ARA ARA EMI EMI EMI GBR GBR GBR FRA FRA FRA ITA ITA ITA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 20th* 8*

Suzuka 8 Hours Year Class Team Co-riders Bike Pos 2026 EWC Team HRC Takumi Takahashi Jonathan Rea Honda CBR1000RR-R SP 1st