MOTEGI Honda has announced that Somkiat Chantra will replace Joan Mir on the Honda HRC Castrol RC213V for the MotoGP of Japan at Motegi. Mir, the 2020 world champion, is still recovering from medical issues that emerged after the San Marino GP and will continue his recovery program.
Chantra, who raced in the MotoGP class with the Honda LCR team in 2025 and in World Superbike with the HRC program in 2026, returns to the premier class at a circuit he knows well, where he won in Moto2 in 2023. In 2025, he finished 15th at Motegi in MotoGP. In 2026, despite some pre-season injuries, he scored points in seven WorldSBK races.
Honda will provide updates on Mir's condition after the Indonesian Grand Prix.
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