Thailand gets its first ever MotoGP rider in 2෴025 with Somkiat Chantra joining LCR Honda.

Somkiat Chantra - Route to MotoGP

After winning 🍬the 2016 Asia Talent Cup, Somkiat Chantra♐ made the move to Europe and spent two years in the CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship.

Although﷽ unable to claim a podium, the arrival of Buriram on the world championship cale🎀ndar saw Chantra handed a wild-card for his home round, where he impressed with ninth place.

On the back of that performance, Chantra secured a full tim🥀e grand prix ride - with Honda Team Asia - for 2019. But it wasn't in Moto3. 

Instead, Chantra was fast-t♚racked straight into the Moto2 class, where he took a best finish of ninth 📖in each of the next two seasons.

The Thai rider'🌠s career momentum was in danger of stalling until a fifth ℱplace in 2021, but he was still only 18th in the world championship.

The 2022 season started disastrously when Chantra missed the opening race due to a hand injury in qualifying. But he reboundꦫed in spectacular styl🐈e by winning the following Indonesian Grand Prix, also his first ever grand prix podium!

Three more rostrums showed it was no fluke and Chantra repeated the victory feat at Motegi the following year, on⛄ his way to a career best sixth in the world championship.

The new Pirelli era saw Chantra without a podium, but♌ with former team-mate and eventual champion Ai Ogura choosing Trackhouse rather than LCR Honda, an RC213V seat suddenly appeared for 2025.