Two “new” bikes for Somkiat Chantra at Sepang MotoGP Shakedown test

Somkiat Chantra is one of three rookies in this year’s MotoGP season, but his year was off to a delayed start at the Sepang MotoGP Shakedown test this weekend.

The Thai rider didn’t ride at all on the first day of the three-day test, only emerging on days two and three.

“We had three days to test, and I worked only two days to test because the team was preparing the bike ready for testing two days,” Chantra said.

He explained that missing the first day was down to the two new, 2025-spec Honda RC213Vs he had available to him this weekend.

“My bike was [all] new compared to Barcelona, and so I have two bikes that are new,” he said.

“Now, my team wants me to work with the 2025 bike and see how it’s going compared to 2024.”

When Chantra did get going, his pace was slower than that of the other two rookies this year – Ai Ogura and Fermin Aldeguer – but it did improve from one day to the next.

“The first day like always I try to go to check the bike and also try to know electronics, try to learn the electronics with the bike,” he said.

“I tried to use the device really in the good places because when I compared with Taka [Takaaki Nakagami] on last year there were also some points where I was slower than him to put the rear device. Now we are going in a good direction.”

Nakagami, who after retirement from racing has become an official HRC test rider, has been a resource for Chantra in these three days, riding with the Japanese and also studying his data.

“For me, [on Saturday] I was out with Taka,” he said.

“Taka said ‘You’re riding easy,’ and I just enjoyed first because now is the moment to start with the bike and also get the feeling with the bike.

“[He] still didn’t tell me anything yesterday, in the official test they will come to me.”

Fermin Aldeguer had said after the Shakedown that the biggest adaptation to MotoGP for him was the braking. For Chantra it was his, but also the speed, the tyres, and the lean angle.

“For me, the most difficult thing first is the speed,” he said, “and also the point to stop the bike. Because now, changing to carbon brakes, for me the point is different than Moto2, and also the speed to go into the corner is different to Moto2.”

He added: “When I used Michelin the first time, then when we come here, for me they give us a different [feeling] than Moto2, a lot.

“And also with lean angle I feel like I never stop [leaning], but when I compare with Taka it’s still far [from his] lean angle. But my team always says ‘Sure this will come soon, you need to learn step-by-step’.”

Chantra was one of the most active riders on the third and final day of the test, reinforcing the physical work the Thai rider needs to do to be ready for the season.

“For me, yes, quite destroyed, but I know,” Chantra said of his condition at the conclusion of the test.

“When I jumped to Moto2 for the first time, my body was destroyed like this, and after that my body adapted with the bike and it [was] okay.”