The 25-year-old spent five seasons in Moto2<\/a> but only finished 12th in the intermediate class last year. The first Thai rider in the series\u2019 history, he\u2019s partly on the grid to satisfy Honda partners Idemitsu.<\/p>\n RACESPRRThailand1918Argentina1718Americas1916Qatar2018Spain20DNFFranceDNSDNSGreat Britain2119Aragon1916Italy1918Netherlands1915GermanyDNSDNSCzech RepublicDNSDNSSomkiat Chantra\u2019s MotoGP career so far<\/p>\n Observers say that Chantra looks \u2018terrified\u2019 on the Honda motorcycle<\/a>, while engineers are reportedly disregarding his data when making development and tuning choices. Still out of action with a knee injury, there is a strong possibility that he\u2019s let go when his contract expires at the end of the year.<\/p>\n Carlo Pernat warns Honda that Diogo Moreira needs another year in Moto2<\/p>\n Diogo Moreira<\/a> is the favourite to replace Chantra, should Honda commit to making a change. Moreira currently ranks fourth in Moto2, having won his first race in the championship in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n As veteran MotoGP manager Carlo Pernat<\/a> pointed out in an interview with MOW<\/a>, there are also \u2018strategic\u2019 incentives attached to Moreira, particularly with MotoGP returning to Brazil next year.<\/p>\n However, Pernat fears that the 21-year-old could struggle like Chantra if he\u2019s rushed into the premier class. He\u2019s advised Honda<\/a> to draw up a contract that includes a final Moto2 season, even if that may frustrate him.<\/p>\n Moreira would then arrive for the 2027 regulation changes, a more natural start point.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat worries me, though, is whether they\u2019re really in danger of turning Diogo Moreira into a Somkiat Chantra two,\u201d said Pernat.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of throwing him into the MotoGP<\/a> mix in 2026 when everything will change in 2027? Better to let him do another year of Moto2.<\/p>\n \u201cHonda has so much money that if they want to be chosen, they\u2019ll be chosen without having to promise early debuts. No one has Honda\u2019s firepower financially, so as a manager, I\u2019d try to convince Moreira with a three-year contract offering a lot of money up front, but with a waiting season in Moto2. <\/p>\n \u201cNow they\u2019d risk making him feel bad, and that\u2019s it, with a bike that won\u2019t even help him learn the ropes, not to mention not being fast. However, I fully believe and understand that Honda strongly wants Moreira. When I was Alex Barros\u2019s manager, I remember that the Brazilian market was already strategic for Honda at that time, with several hundred thousand bikes sold there.\u201d<\/p>\n Does Somkiat Chantra have an attitude problem at LCR?<\/p>\n Analyst Peter Bom has questioned whether Chantra really wants to be in MotoGP<\/a>. When the offer arrived, he couldn\u2019t turn it down.<\/p>\n![\"Diogo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2221339957-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp\/Getty Images<\/p>\n