Pain was present for Somkiat Chantra in his first ride on the Honda WorldSBK bike after his crash in Sepang in January.

Chantra’s Sepang crash caused breaks in both arms that forced the Thai rider to miss both of the European tests in January (which ultimately proved to be mostly worthless as rain washed both of them out) plus the test and race at Phillip Island in February, where he was replaced by Tetsuta Nagashima.

The Portimao test this week offered Chantra the chance to get on the World Superbike-spec CBR1000RR-R for the first time since the Jerez test last November, but it, too, was rained out on the second day.

Day one at least gave Chantra the chance to get on-track, but it came with pain when turning into corners.

“It was of course good to be back on the bike and able to test, even if the weather only allowed us to complete around 40 laps,” said Somkiat Chantra after the test.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

“I tried to take it step by step to check how my arms were feeling. The left arm has been okay, but on the right side I still can’t move exactly as I did before and when I try to lean into the corner, I feel a bit of pain. 

“But I was expecting that, and it’s quite normal.”

Chantra added that he’d been able to ride a CBR600RR in Thailand before the test, and that his objective now is to try to be prepared for the Portuguese Round on 27–29 March.

“I had already done some training with my CBR600RR back in Thailand, but the goal of this test was to get some proper track time and regain confidence with my racing bike and with my team,” he said.

“I’ll now return home and continue training; I hope to be ready for the Portimao round.”

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Chantra rode alongside Jonathan Rea for Honda at the test, the Northern Irishman complaining about the rain that has hampered all of the European testing since January. Chantra’s full-time teammate Jake Dixon did not ride this week as he continues to recover from the injuries he picked up at the final preseason test in Australia last month.