Somkiat Chantra to replace Johann Zarco at the 47th Suzuka 8 Hours

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) announces a rider change following the injury of Johann Zarco, who was scheduled to compete in the 47th “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race, an FIM^* Endurance World Championship (EWC) round, to be held on 5 July 2026.

Zarco was involved in a multi-rider crash at Turn 1 immediately after the restart of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain on 17 May. He suffered ligament damage to his left knee as well as a small fibula fracture (in the ankle area). As a result of these injuries, Zarco will miss this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours.

As a replacement, HRC has decided to field Somkiat Chantra, who currently competes in the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) with the factory Honda HRC team. Chantra developed his racing career with HRC from an early age and has competed as part of the Honda family across categories including Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and WorldSBK. Bringing extensive experience, the Thai rider is expected to make a valuable contribution to the team at the Suzuka 8 Hours.

HRC sincerely wishes Johann Zarco a speedy recovery and will take on the Suzuka 8 Hours as a united front, as it targets a fifth consecutive victory.

^{*FIM stands for Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (International Motorcycling Federation).}