Honda at Misano: Somkiat Chantra’s breakthrough didn’t come until Sunday

Honda is enduring its worst Superbike season this year since its factory return in 2020, and probably its worst season ever. The round at Misano was no exception.

The fact that Ducati has produced a masterpiece with the new V4R and that in 2026 it will also be superior to the seven Honda Fireblade customer bikes is just one reason. Furthermore, regular rider Jake Dixon was once again absent from the seventh round of the season in order to be in better shape for his home race at Donington Park.

Furthermore: Somkiat Chantra is no bad rider, but on larger bikes the Thai has so far failed to prove that he ranks among the top riders.

Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Misano, Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Paddock

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Kawasaki Motorhome

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Álvaro Bautista

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Axel Bassani

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Iker Lecuona & Nicolò Bulega

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Das Bike von Sam Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

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Lorenzo Baldassarri

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Álvaro Bautista

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Andrea Locatelli

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Nicolò Bulega

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Michael van der Mark

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Yari Montella

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Sam Lowes

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Somkiat Chantra

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Ryan Vickers

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Michael van der Mark

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Garrett Gerloff

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Alex Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

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Xavi Vierge

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Garrett Gerloff

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Alex Lowes

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Nicolò Bulega

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Yari Montella

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Iker Lecuona

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Nicolò Bulega

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Superpole - Iker Lecuona, Nicolò Bulega & Alex Lowes

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Rennen - Iker Lecuona, Nicolò Bulega & Yari Montella

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Sieger Nicolò Bulega

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Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Misano, Nicolò Bulega

© Gold & Goose

Because Honda had taken part in the Misano test at the start of June, set-up data was available, but this was of limited help during the race weekend.

“We went into the first practice session with a set-up that was a compromise between Aragón and the Misano test. However, we quickly realised that it wasn’t delivering the desired results. The bike was unstable and we had more rear-end sliding than during the test,” the former MotoGP rider explained his difficulties. “That’s why we decided in FP2 to revert to a set-up that was closer to the one from the test. That helped and our lap times improved. But it was hotter and it felt as though we still didn’t have the same grip. I wasn’t sure if it was down to the set-up or something else, but the bike was still more unstable than during the test.”

On Saturday, Chantra qualified 19th, even behind Mattia Rato from the private Yamaha team Motoxracing, which has only a fraction of Honda’s budget at its disposal. The fact that the Thai rider finished 15th in the first race – this time well ahead of the Motoxracing riders – was also down to four riders retiring ahead of him.

“The race was really tough. Right from the start, I didn’t have the same good feeling for the bike and I had problems with grip, especially on the rear wheel. We’d already had that feeling on Friday and unfortunately couldn’t improve it enough,” lamented Chantra. “We tried a set-up that was very similar to the one from the Misano test, but the feeling wasn’t the same, which is a bit frustrating.”

On Sunday, the Honda crew finally managed a sort of breakthrough. Finishing 13th in the second race, Chantra at least managed to finish ahead of the Ducati riders Tommy Bridewell and Lorenzo Baldassarri, as well as Stefano Manzi (Yamaha). The four-second gap to tenth place (Sam Lowes/Ducati) was also smaller than it has been for a long time.

“We’d made a few changes and improved the set-up. My feeling was better and I was able to push harder, especially in the corners,” explained the 27-year-old. “We tested these changes in the Superpole race and the result didn’t feel too bad. For Race 2, we tried to stay in the group and hold our position. The pace was pretty good, and I was able to keep up with the riders around me for almost the entire race. The track was very hot and there are a lot of long corners here, so the front tyre was quite worn and I couldn’t push any harder. In the end, I decided to hold my position and bring the race home safely.”