# Somkiat Chantra

Somkiat Chantra (Thai: สมเกียรติ จันทรา; born 15 December 1998) is a Thai Grand Prix motorcycle racer who is competing in MotoGP for Idemitsu Honda LCR Honda in 2025. He previously competed in Moto2 for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia from 2019 to 2024.
Chantra is the second Asia Talent Cup graduate to make it to 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 8th in Le Mans, 13th in Jerez, 7th in Aragon, and 10th 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 4th place in France. He ended the year 9th 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)

Riding for the newly formed Honda Asia Team in 2019, created specifically to give Asian riders a chance in Moto2 and Moto3, Chantra performed well as a rookie, scoring 23 points in the season, while his teammates Dimas Ekky Pratama, Andi Farid Izdihar, Teppei Nagoe, and Gerry Salim scored none.
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 10 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 will 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.

## Career statistics
### Asia Talent Cup
#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike |
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts |
| 2014 | Honda | QAT 6 | IDN 11 | CHN1 18 | CHN2 15 | MAL1 Ret | MAL2 11 | JAP | MYS1 10 | MYS2 4 | | | | 11th | 48 |
| 2015 | Honda | THA1 1 | THA2 Ret | QAT1 2 | QAT2 3 | MAL1 | MAL2 | CHN1 | CHN2 | JPN1 | JPN2 | SEP1 | SEP2 | 12th | 61 |
| 2016 | Honda | THA1 4 | THA2 1 | QAT1 6 | QAT2 2 | MAL1 4 | MAL2 1 | CHN1 3 | CHN2 8 | JPN1 6 | JPN2 4 | SEP1 Ret | SEP2 1 | 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 Ret | LMS 8 | CAT1 | CAT2 | VAL1 | VAL2 | EST | JER1 13 | JER1 7 | ARA 17 | VAL1 16 | VAL2 10 | 20th | 26 |
| 2018 | Honda | EST 9 | VAL1 6 | VAL2 5 | FRA 4 | CAT1 12 | CAT2 14 | ARA Ret | JER1 12 | JER2 Ret | ALB 6 | VAL1 | VAL2 | 9th | 61 |

### Grand Prix motorcycle racing
#### By season

| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
| 2018 | Moto3 | Honda | AP Honda Racing Thailand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 33rd |
| 2019 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 21st |
| 2020 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 25th |
| 2021 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 18th |
| 2022 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 19 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 128 | 10th |
| 2023 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 173.5 | 6th |
| 2024 | Moto2 | Kalex | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 12th |
| 2025 | MotoGP | Honda | LCR Honda Idemitsu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 21st* |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 108 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 482.5 | |

#### By class

| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
| Moto3 | 2018 | 2018 Thailand | | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Moto2 | 2019–2024 | 2019 Qatar | 2022 Indonesia | 2022 Indonesia | 105 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 475.5 | 0 |
| MotoGP | 2025–present | 2025 Thailand | | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2018–present | 2018–present | 2018–present | 2018–present | 108 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 482.5 | 0 |

#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Pos | Pts |
| 2018 | Moto3 | Honda | QAT | ARG | AME | SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | GER | CZE | AUT | GBR | RSM | ARA | THA 9 | JPN | AUS | MAL | VAL | | | | 33rd | 7 |
| 2019 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT Ret | ARG 10 | AME 20 | SPA 17 | FRA Ret | ITA | CAT 17 | NED DNS | GER | CZE 15 | AUT 12 | GBR 16 | RSM 14 | ARA 16 | THA 9 | JPN 13 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | VAL 23 | | | | 21st | 23 |
| 2020 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 25 | SPA Ret | ANC Ret | CZE 23 | AUT 13 | STY Ret | RSM 18 | EMI 21 | CAT Ret | FRA 9 | ARA 23 | TER 19 | EUR Ret | VAL 18 | POR 18 | | | | | | | | 25th | 10 |
| 2021 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT Ret | DOH 19 | POR 21 | SPA Ret | FRA 12 | ITA 18 | CAT 9 | GER 18 | NED 11 | STY 8 | AUT 5 | GBR 17 | ARA Ret | RSM Ret | AME 14 | EMI Ret | ALR DSQ | VAL 19 | | | | | 18th | 37 |
| 2022 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT DNS | INA 1 | ARG 2 | AME Ret | POR Ret | SPA Ret | FRA 3 | ITA Ret | CAT 12 | GER 15 | NED 13 | GBR 13 | AUT 2 | RSM 8 | ARA 7 | JPN 5 | THA Ret | AUS 8 | MAL Ret | VAL Ret | | | 10th | 128 |
| 2023 | Moto2 | Kalex | POR 9 | ARG 8 | AME 11 | SPA 7 | FRA 6 | ITA 9 | GER 4 | NED Ret | GBR 9 | AUT 5 | CAT 14 | RSM 6 | IND Ret | JPN 1 | INA 7 | AUS 7$^‡$ | THA 3 | MAL 6 | QAT 7 | VAL 5 | | | 6th | 173.5 |
| 2024 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 11 | POR 10 | AME 21 | SPA 10 | FRA 5 | CAT Ret | ITA 9 | NED 5 | GER 6 | GBR Ret | AUT 8 | ARA 6 | RSM 14 | EMI 14 | INA Ret | JPN | AUS | THA 4 | MAL 9 | SLD 10 | | | 12th | 104 |
| 2025 | MotoGP | Honda | THA 18 | ARG 18 | AME | QAT | SPA | FRA | GBR | ARA | ITA | NED | GER | CZE | AUT | HUN | CAT | RSM | JPN | INA | AUS | MAL | POR | VAL | 21st* | 0* |
$^‡$ Half points awarded as less than two thirds of the race distance (but at least three full laps) was completed. * Season still in progress.