Recently Somkiat Chantra has been rumoured to replace Takaaki Nakagami in the LCR Honda Team.

With Ai Ogura supposedly on his way to Trackhouse Aprilia it seemed Takaaki Nakagami would stay at the LCR Honda Team in 2025. However, it has since been revealed by Lucio Cecchinello that Somkiat Chantra could ride for LCR next year.

At Silverstone, it was speculated that Chantra could be on his way to MotoGP in 2025. The two-time Moto2 race winner, who rides for the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, had not been in contention for a MotoGP ride until recently. The Thai rider is currently 11th in the Moto2 Championship, with his best result this season being fifth place.

"Ogura was Honda HRC's number one option, and now I know they are dealing with Nakagami and are talking to Chantra," Cecchinello told DAZN, before outlining his ideal candidate: "Normally, the rider who will take this spot should be Nakagami or an Asian rider."

In 2018 Nakagami joined the LCR Honda Idemitsu team. The Japanese rider has remained with the team for seven years and his best Championship result was 10th in 2020. Currently, Nakagami is 20th in the 2024 standings with 11 points, three points behind Johann Zarco and two points behind Joan Mir.

“My plan A is to stay with the same team and to continue because honestly speaking it is not fair to decide my potential this season because all four riders are struggling, not only me,” Nakagami said.

“It would be (good to have) a fair chance to show my speed with a competitive bike and to understand which position we are. Also, I can help with the development side and I have a lot of experience with a Honda bike. So let’s see.”