News

Still recovering from his training accident suffered earlier in January, which left him requiring surgery on both arms, Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) has been ruled unfit for the upcoming 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season-opening Australian Round. After a largely positive medical reassessment on January 28th, Chantra had his casts removed, yet the possibility of the former MotoGP rider making his WorldSBK debut at the first round of the season was ruled impossible as he needs more time to recover from the injury.

Replacing Chantra will be Honda HRC Test Team rider Tetsuta Nagashima, who will join British rider Jake Dixon to kick off the 2026 campaign. Nagashima has been earning his keep with the team so far in 2026, as he has been the team’s test rider who has logged the most laps atop their Honda CBR1000RR-R SP across 2026’s four days of testing so far. Rounding out the Honda-powered lineup for the Australian Round, BSB rider Ryan Vickers makes his return to the WorldSBK paddock and will participate as a wildcard entry.

The team said the following in their official statement: “Somkiat Chantra to be replaced by Tetsuta Nagashima for WorldSBK Round 1. Despite a positive recovery process, Somkiat Chantra will not be fit in time to participate in Round 1 of the Superbike World Championship, set to take place at Phillip Island, Australia, on 20–22 February 2026.The Thai rider visited Bangkok Hospital on 28 January, where his condition was assessed positively and his cast was removed. Anyway, due to the recovery timeline, Chantra will be replaced for the season-opening round by official test rider Tetsuta Nagashima, who will join official rider Jake Dixon in the Honda HRC factory team. Completing the Honda rider line-up for Round 1, British Honda BSB rider Ryan Vickers, will also take part as a wildcard entry.”

Tune in for the season debut as the WorldSBK season kicks off Down Under with the WorldSBK VideoPass!