Honda Racing rider Somkiat Chantra is aiming to make his WorldSBK debut at the second round in Portimao in March.
The Thai rider joined Honda’s WorldSBK programme after one year with LCR Honda in MotoGP, but a pre-season training crash in Sepang in January resulted in a broken arm.
Chantra had a successful operation on Saturday, 17th January, missing out on preseason testing at Jerez and Portimao.
Honda had already planned to field test rider Tetsuta Nagashima, but the Japanese rider will now replace Chantra directly, while fellow test rider Ryan Vickers travels down under.
Chantra provided an update on estimated timelines at Honda’s team launch, stating: “Like everyone knows, I broke my arm and the doctor said to me ‘Better to don’t go to round one and try to be [at] round two.
“I hope to be at race two because now I miss all the team a lot and I want to come back on the bike also. I will do my best to come back at round two.”
This means the 27-year-old could feature in Portimao on 27–29 March at the earliest.
“My recovery is progressing well and I’m happy with how things are going post-surgery,” he shared in a press release.
“Being able to remove the protection and stitches quite quickly was a positive step, though I still need time before I can ride again.
“For now, the focus is on calmly continuing my recovery and making sure I’m fully ready before getting back on the bike.”
READ MORE – Somkiat Chantra reveals how WorldSBK is ‘completely different’ to MotoGP
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