Who is LCR Honda MotoGP rider Somkiat Chantra? Everything you need to know from career to height

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Somkiat Chantra is the first MotoGP rider from Thailand and also the second product of the Asia Talent Cup to graduate into the premier class of the world championship.

Chantra will leave MotoGP after just one season, following growing speculation that he would be replaced by Diogo Moreira. The Thai rider has signed with Honda for next year’s World Superbike Championship.

Chantra has struggled since his move to MotoGP at the start of the year, scoring points at just three races and being forced to miss four grands prix after fracturing his right knee.

The Thai followed Japanese pilot Ai Ogura to rise from the Asia Talent Cup to MotoGP – with both also debuting in the 2025 term. Trackhouse Racing signed Ogura for his premier class breakthrough in August 2024 followed up quickly by Honda signing Chantra that September.

Honda handed Chantra a one-year factory contract after Takaaki Nakagami stepped down to a test rider role within HRC, creating a vacancy on the Idemitsu-branded LCR Honda bike for the 2025 season. Chantra was just 10th in the Moto2 standings when he signed with Honda.

Somkiat Chantra signed a factory Honda contract for his MotoGP debut with LCR Team

Chantra also moved up to MotoGP after finishing the 2024 Moto2 season in 12th place with Idemitsu Honda Team Asia on just 104 points – 174 fewer than riders’ champion Ogura took. The Thai did not even win a race, so Chantra left the class with two career wins in 105 races.

Life in the intermediate class was initially a struggle for Chantra after debuting in Moto2 for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia in the 2019 season. He struggled with the jump to heavier bikes after moving to Moto2 from the European Moto3 junior championship and a race in Moto3.

It took Chantra until the first race of his fourth season in Moto2 to score not just his maiden podium but a first win with a victory at the 2022 Grand Prix of Indonesia. Before sealing the top step of the podium at Mandalika, Chantra had taken points in just 14 of his Moto2 races.

Winning the 2022 Moto2 Grand Prix of Indonesia also made Chantra the first-ever Thai rider to win a race in any world championship class. Riding a Kalex chassis, Chantra took glory at the Mandalika International Street Circuit by 3.230s to Celestino Vietti from P4 on the grid.

Further podiums followed during 2022 in Argentina (P2), France (P3) and Austria (P2). But it took Chantra until round 14 of the 2023 term to win again at the Moto2 Grand Prix of Japan. His final year in the intermediate class before moving up to MotoGP did not yield a podium.

Somkiat Chantra beat Ai Ogura to win the 2016 Asia Talent Cup by five points

Chantra enjoyed greater success in the earlier stages of his career than the Thai would taste on the verge of MotoGP racing in Moto2. He rose to prominence in the Asia Talent Cup and won the title in 2016 in Chantra’s third year – even beating Ogura to the title by five points.

A move to the CEV Moto3 junior world championship in 2017 would not bring more glory to Chantra’s door, though. During two seasons in the European Moto3 series, Chantra failed to make a podium let alone win a race. His best year-end result was P9 in 2018 with 61 points.

But Chantra also got a brief taste of the Moto3 world championship in 2018 and showed his potential to the globe. Despite his lack of experience in the lightweight class field, Chantra got a remarkable P9 in the 2018 Moto3 Grand Prix of Thailand in what was round 15 of 19.

Finishing the race at Buriram only 1.643 seconds behind the winner Fabio Di Giannantonio, and as the fourth-best Honda rider, firmly put Chantra on the map. But he struggled to put together consistent results in Moto2 – including only scoring 10 points in the 2020 season.

So, with that in mind, MotoGP News has taken a look into everything that you need to know about Chantra from his world championship career stats and race number to his Instagram…

Who is LCR Honda rider Somkiat Chantra?

Somkiat Chantra is Thailand’s first-ever MotoGP rider and currently competes in the premier class of the world championship for LCR Team as a factory Honda contracted rider. Chantra signed his first MotoGP contract directly with Honda for the 2025 campaign whilst in Moto2.

His graduation to MotoGP for the 2025 season aged 26 marked the culmination of a lengthy junior career for Chantra, who started racing aged nine years old in the domestic Thai junior championship. Chantra even grew up idolising a fellow Thai rider, Feem Ratthapark Wilairot.

How old is Somkiat Chantra? Where was he born and what is his nationality?

At the time of writing, Somkiat Chantra is 26 years old and was born on 15 December 1998.

Somkiat Chantra is Thai and was born in Chon Buri, which is Bangkok’s nearest seaside town on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Chon Buri is also over 200 miles from Buriram, the venue for the Thailand Grand Prix. But Chantra has lived in Barcelona, Spain since 2017.

How tall is Somkiat Chantra and how much does he weigh?

Standing at a height of 1.72m, Somkiat Chantra measures in at 5 ft 7 in, which is about average for the 2025 grid.

Despite being of average height, Chantra is one of the lightest riders in 2025, weighing in at 63kg (9st 12lbs). Only Fabio Di Giannantonio and Ai Ogura weigh less than the Spaniard.

Why Somkiat Chantra chose 35 as his permanent MotoGP race number

Somkiat Chantra picked the No35 plate as his permanent race number ahead of debuting in MotoGP with LCR Honda in the 2025 season. Chantra was the first permanent MotoGP rider to select 35 as their race number since Cal Crutchlow, with the Briton using it from 2011-23.

The Thai chose No35 as Chantra had run the plate throughout his career in the intermediate Moto2 class and for his lightweight Moto3 class debut. He even picked No35 whilst Chantra competed in the CEV Moto3 class and was able to choose his race number for the first time.

Chantra noted ahead of his MotoGP debut while discussing why he chose to keep the No35 plate: “I use No35 now in MotoGP because it’s my number and it comes from my CEV times.

“Also, the number was very nice because when plus [added together] it’s the No8 and No8 in Thailand means, ‘Never go out. Always there’.”

How good is Somkiat Chantra? Who has praised the MotoGP rider?

Somkiat Chantra may not boast the most wins or podiums on his CV but graduated through the world championship classes to reach MotoGP in 2025 thanks to the Thai’s perseverance and determination. He has regularly kept fighting, even when the results have not followed.

LCR Team boss Lucio Cecchinello gave Chantra a vote of confidence after Honda confirmed he would graduate to MotoGP with the satellite squad. The Italian also backed the Thai on the eve of his debut with Cecchinello clear Chantra has the ‘necessary speed’ for MotoGP.

Cecchinello said in 2024: “Alongside HRC, we believe that it’s time to welcome a great Asian talent such as Somkiat Chantra as we think he deserves an opportunity at the highest level of the two-wheel competition.

“Through his years in Moto2, he’s shown potential and the skills to grow and become a strong rider in MotoGP.”

Chantra has also received praise throughout his career for being a beacon of inspiration for young riders in Thailand. The nation’s tourism and sports minister Piphat Ratchakitprakarn described Chantra as a ‘role model’ in May 2022 after his historic Moto2 win in Indonesia.

Somkiat Chantra’s net worth

While Somkiat Chantra was a part of the world championship paddock for several years in Moto2 before graduating into MotoGP in 2025, the Thai’s net worth remains unconfirmed.

What is Somkiat Chantra’s Instagram account?

Somkiat Chantra has a public Instagram account under the handle @somkiatchantra, where he shares images of the Thai’s motorsport career. Ahead of his MotoGP debut, Chantra had around 71,500 followers on Instagram since his first public upload shared in October 2019.

Somkiat Chantra’s Grand Prix career racing stats

As of the end of the 2024 campaign, Somkiat Chantra is yet to win a riders’ title in any of the world championship categories the Thai has competed in. Chantra secured his best finish to a season in the world championship during the 2023 Moto2 season when he came sixth.