Lucio Cecchinello has discussed the future of Somkiat Chantra in MotoGP and explained what caused him to get promoted from Moto2.
At the Czech Republic Grand Prix, the LCR Honda squad were reunited with Takaaki Nakagami as Somkiat Chantra continued to recover from recent injuries.
However, at the race weekend, Lucio Cecchinello was discussing the future of Chantra and his chances of remaining in MotoGP for a second season.
The Italian knows that the Thai rider needs longer than a year to develop, but IDEMITSU and Honda will make the final decision over Chantra's future.
"Honda knows that maybe the rider would need another year of opportunity before marking the fate of his career," Cecchinello told GPOne.
"But does the sponsor agree? I honestly don't know. I can say that he is a great guy, smiling, polite, and nice to work with.
"But it's true that he has to grow in an important way to become a MotoGP rider. Here we have Marquez, Vinales, and Zarco. They are super athletes, animals.
"Will Chantra be given time to mature? I tell the truth, which is that right now I don't know.
"Meanwhile, he will certainly get back on the bike this year, finish the season, and certainly Honda has not made any decision about the future.
"In my opinion, he has a talented base, but he probably needs more time than other riders to get to the pace they need. I am not just talking about the track but really the psychological commitment."
The LCR Honda team owner went on to discuss how Chantra got promoted to MotoGP because Ai Ogura opted to sign with Trackhouse Racing.
"Takaaki Nakagami was very well-liked by Honda, and by the sponsor," he explained.
"He had seven full seasons with us, but as early as the end of 2023, we were thinking of giving a chance to Ogura, who was doing very well in Moto2.
"He and Chantra were the potential candidates. In 2023, Ogura could have already arrived, but it was decided to continue with Nakagami because we still needed an experienced rider to develop the bike.
"Then, at the end of 2024, they went to make deals with Ogura, but he declined the offer. No one expected this. Honda had supported his career from the beginning.
"But by then, it was difficult to think about continuing with Nakagami, so Chantra was promoted."
