The MotoGP rookie who “almost had a heart attack” before their first test

LCR Honda MotoGP rookie Somkiat Chantra says he “almost had a heart attack” before his first test on the bike on Tuesday at Barcelona.

The double Moto2 race winner was a surprise signing during the 2024 rider market movements, with Honda electing to put him in Takaaki Nakagami’s place at LCR.

Chantra made his debut on the bike on Tuesday at the post-season Barcelona test, in which he completed 61 laps and was second-to-last on the timesheets.

Speaking after his first day on the Honda, Chantra revealed how nervous he was ahead of his opening run.

“For sure, before I go on the bike I was getting so much, like almost a heart attack before I had to go on the bike,” he said.

“When I got on the bike I said ‘Ok, now we try to learn the bike, what the bike is doing’.”

Chantra’s primary focus in his first test was to learn the Michelin tyres and the carbon brakes, having used Pirellis and steel brakes in Moto2 in 2024.

“For me, today was the first day on the MotoGP bike and I was trying to understand the carbon brakes and learn the tyres because it’s different compared to MotoGP,” he added.

“Also, my team always says try to be careful on the left side because the tyre when you go on the straight is getting cold quite easy.

“[I was] trying to learn how to manage the tyre.”

The Thai rider says it was a shock the first time he wound up the throttle on the RC213V and braked at the end of the straight, which gave him a real sense of the speed of a MotoGP bike.

“When I went on the exit lap, I tried to be a little bit calm on the brake and on the gas,” he said.

“When I arrived into the last corner, I tried to go a little bit full. When [I was tucked] in the screen, it was ok.

“But when [I went] on brakes and [lifted my] head up it was so fast. Lap by lap it got better.”

Chantra is one of three rookies stepping up to MotoGP in 2024, alongside Moto2 world champion Ai Ogura at Trackhouse and Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini.