Marco Bezzecchi
Honda have been the most-improved manufacturer on the MotoGP grid this season and their efforts have surprised some.
Winning a race wasn’t meant to be on their 2025 bingo card, but Johann Zarco rode superbly around his home track at Le Mans to secure an emotional French Grand Prix victory.
Although he’s contracted to the satellite LCR team, the 34-year-old has been one of Honda’s brightest aspects this year.
He sits eighth in the MotoGP standings, and without him, his Japanese manufacturer would be a distant fifth in the constructors’ race, rather than fourth.
On the other side of the garage, things haven’t been so smooth. Honda are in talks with a ‘fantastic’ rider to replace the injured Somkiat Chantra, who has scored just one point this season.
Honda would be ’20 years behind’ without Zarco, according to Peter Bom, who recognises how much of the slack he has picked up.
Honda are considering Tetsuta Nagashima to replace Somkiat Chantra at the Austrian Grand Prix
Honda have u-turned on their 2026 line-up and could be prepared to replace Chantra with a Moto2 star for next season.
The Thai rider does have a contract, but it’s just a piece of paper. If Honda wants to replace him, they can probably find a way out.
Unfortunately, Chantra wasn’t much of a standout performer in Moto2 either, taking two victories in six seasons, with a best standing of sixth.
Injuries have marred his rookie premier class campaign, and it has been a headache for Honda. They have been through multiple choices and are almost out of people to replace him with.
Diario AS reports that Honda are on their ‘final straw’, with the likes of Takaaki Nakagami, Aleix Espargaro, Stefan Bradl and Xavi Vierge all out of the picture for the Austrian Grand Prix.
They may turn to Tetsuta Nagashima, a test rider who hasn’t been at the top for a few years, but his potential participation is ‘raising doubts’.
How did Somkiat Chantra get injured during the 2025 MotoGP season?
Chantra missed one race earlier in the season, after undergoing arm-pump surgery that forced him to sit out at Le Mans.
But the more severe of his injuries was sustained off-track, after a training incident in early July did significant damage to his right knee.
The 26-year-old hurt his collateral ligament, forcing him to miss races in Germany and the Czech Republic ahead of the summer break.
And now he’s set to miss another race in Austria, too. With just 10 to go, his rookie campaign is quickly drifting away from him.
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