Uncertainty over Joan Mir’s fitness – Somkiat Chantra to take the factory Honda at Motegi – It remains to be seen who will ride at Mandalika
Somkiat Chantra is set to return to MotoGP at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix. The Thai rider will replace Joan Mir in the Honda factory team at Motegi, where the race takes place from 2 to 4 October.
Mir was forced to retire from the race at Misano due to symptoms of exhaustion. At Spielberg, the Spaniard was replaced by Takaaki Nakagami. Honda has announced that Mir will also miss the upcoming races in Japan and Indonesia.
Tests have revealed abnormalities in his blood values. A definitive diagnosis has not yet been made. According to MotoGP doctor Dr Angel Charte, Mir has been suffering from various symptoms for several months.
These have recently intensified and have affected his strength and performance. As no definitive cause has yet been identified, the doctor has prescribed a period of strict rest and rehabilitation.
Honda nominated Chantra as a replacement for Motegi because a wildcard entry for Nakagami had long been planned for this race. The Japanese rider will therefore ride with the test team at his home race.
Chantra rode for the Honda Team Asia development squad in the Moto2 class between 2019 and 2024. He won in Indonesia in 2022 and in Japan in 2023. In 2025, Chantra was brought into MotoGP by Honda and placed with LCR.
In his first and only year in the premier class, Chantra fell short of expectations: from 17 race starts, a 13th-place finish in Indonesia was his best result. He finished the season with seven points, in 26th place overall.
For 2026, Chantra was transferred to the Honda works team in the World Superbike Championship. However, the season has so far been anything but ideal. An injury sustained in Sepang during pre-season preparations necessitated surgery.
This delayed his entire adaptation period to the Honda CBR1000RR-R. He missed the season opener at Phillip Island and made his debut at the second race weekend in Portimão.
At the third race weekend in Assen, Chantra crashed again and had to sit out the races. He has been on the starting grid since the fourth race weekend at Balaton Park. In total, he has scored just ten World Championship points so far.
A week after the Japanese Grand Prix, MotoGP heads to Indonesia. It remains to be seen who Honda will nominate as Mir’s replacement at Mandalika, as Chantra is unavailable due to the Superbike World Championship round taking place at the same time in Cremona, Italy.
Nakagami has an important private test scheduled for 14 and 15 October at Sepang on the 850cc Honda RC214V. Aleix Espargaró would be an option, as he has already recovered from his serious back injury. However, he too is scheduled to take part in the Sepang test following the Mandalika weekend.
