Somkiat Chantra to Miss German and Czech MotoGP Rounds Due to Knee Injury

Somkiat Chantra scores his first premier-class point at Assen last Sunday, sustained the injury while riding off-road on Tuesday.

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LCR Honda’s Somkiat Chantra will be sidelined for the upcoming two MotoGP rounds after suffering a knee injury in a training accident earlier this week. The Thai rider, who made history by scoring his first premier-class point at Assen last Sunday, sustained the injury while riding off-road on Tuesday.

Medical examinations confirmed damage to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his right knee, requiring surgery that is scheduled for next Tuesday at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona. As a result, Chantra will miss both the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring next weekend and the Czech Grand Prix at Brno, which takes place from July 18 to 20. 

With the MotoGP summer break set to follow after Brno, Chantra will aim for a potential return at the Austrian Grand Prix in mid-August. 

LCR Honda has not yet announced a replacement rider for the two upcoming rounds. However, HRC test riders Aleix Espargaro and Takaaki Nakagami are both available options, having already made race appearances this season. Espargaro competed at Assen last weekend as a stand-in for Luca Marini, while Nakagami impressed with a sixth-place finish as a wild card in the wet conditions at Le Mans.

Chantra’s absence is a blow to the Thai rider, who has been steadily progressing in his rookie season in the premier class. His historic point-scoring ride at Assen marked a milestone for Thai motorsport, and he will be hoping to return stronger after his recovery.