Somkiat Chantra

2025 MotoGP Season Preview - The Subplots Are What Make The Story

By David Emmett |

In many ways, the 2025 MotoGP championship promises to be one of the more interesting in recent years. Perhaps not the most closely contested - the general consensus among fans and pundits alike is that you can take your pick of whether it will be Pecco Bagnaia or Marc Márquez who ends up lifting the 2025 MotoGP crown - but behind the title fight, there are some fascinating developments to watch out for.

We may as well start with that title battle. The dominance of Ducati was so great last year that it is hard to imagine anyone other than Marc Márquez or Pecco Bagnaia walking off with the title. Despite the fact that they are sticking with their GP24 engine - a little more on that later - both Bagnaia and Márquez showed pace during the test, Márquez' race simulation at Buriram almost fast enough to win a sprint race.

Aragon MotoGP Thursday Round Up: Nakagami's Communication Revolution, Where Honda Went Wrong, And Grip Trouble On A New Surface

By David Emmett |

It has been a very newsy sort of day at Aragon. First, we got the news that Takaaki Nakagami is to become a test rider for HRC based in Japan, and form a bridge between Honda's Japanese and European operations. Then we got the news that Somkiat Chantra is to become the second Asia Talent Cup rider to move up to MotoGP, taking Nakagami's place in the LCR Honda Idemitsu team. Nakagami will stay on to help Chantra adapt to MotoGP, and teach him the ropes.

That Chantra should get the LCR Honda Idemitsu ride is not a surprise. With Ogura off to Trackhouse, the two options were for Nakagami to stay or Chantra to take his place. That second LCR seat is funded by Idemitsu with the explicit aim of promoting Asian riders, and Chantra proved his mettle in Moto2.

It is pointless to argue over whether a non-Asian rider deserves that seat more than Chantra. "In 2018, the IDEMITSU MotoGP project was born with a noble mission-to be the ultimate stepping stone for future champions. It serves as a beacon of hope for young Asian riders, providing them with the platform to grow and learn at the highest level, after participating in the Asian Talent Cup and other light categories on their road to MotoGP," read the statement in the press release. Without the Idemitsu money, there is no second seat at LCR Honda.

Somkiat Chantra To Join LCR Honda For 2025, Takaaki Nakagami To Become HRC Test Rider In Japan

By David Emmett |

The next to last piece of the MotoGP puzzle has fallen into place. As widely expected, Takaaki Nakagami is to make way for Thai rider Somkiat Chantra in the LCR Honda team.

Chantra becomes the first ever Thai rider in the MotoGP class, an important factor for the Buriram MotoGP race, and important for Idemitsu, who have sponsored the second LCR Honda seat with the aim of promoting talented Asian riders. 

With Ai Ogura going to Trackhouse Aprilia and Chantra at LCR, there will now be two riders from the Asian Talent Cup in MotoGP. The ATC is an important stepping stone for talent into the grand prix paddock, and having two riders in MotoGP is an important sign that the project is working.

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