The Call of Home – Marini and Chantra line up for Japanese GP
Mobility Resort MotegiLuca Marini will line up alongside Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra for the Honda’s home race; targets clearly set on delivering a strong result for the local fans to cheer for with a few surprises in store.
Honda’s home round – the Japanese Grand Prix at Mobility Resort Motegi - is always the highlight of the year for the Honda HRC Castrol team as friends, family, engineers, technicians, partners and supporters join the team in unprecedented numbers. 60 years since first entering the premier class with the RC181, Honda continue their proud history of challenging for success, demonstrating what The Power of Dreams can achieve. The Challenge fuels The Dream.
Continuing to steadily bring in points, Luca Marini is determined to once again fight inside the top ten at such an important race and see off his time as a factory HRC rider in the best way possible. With less than a hundredth of a second frequently being the difference between delight and heart break when it comes to Q2, Marini will need to deliver from the very first lap of Free Practice 1. Although he suffered his lone DNF of the season in Japan last year, Luca Marini’s Sprint performance in 2025 confirmed the RC213V’s speed at its home track. With his teammate continuing his recovery, it will again be Marini leading the Honda HRC Castrol squad.
Somkiat Chantra will mount the second Honda RC213V of the Honda HRC Castrol squad while Joan Mir continues his recovery at home. Winner of the 2023 Japanese Moto2 GP, Chantra’s riding style is well suited to the 4.8kilometre-long track and saw him earn 15th place on the LCR Honda in 2026 – one of his five races in the points that season. He is well aware of the significant challenge that jumping from a WorldSBK machine to MotoGP holds without any testing and will be calling on all of his Grand Prix experience this weekend.
The 2026 Japanese GP is already set to be a memorable one for Honda HRC fans around the world as the dawn of a new era in the MotoGP World Championship draws ever closer with a special reveal set for 14:00 Local Time on Thursday, October 01.
“As a Honda rider, the Japanese GP is something really special and unique. It’s like no other race on the calendar. It’s a busy weekend but I really want to enjoy my time this weekend with all the people in this project and the Japanese fans, to say thank you for their efforts over the last three seasons together. In the past, this circuit has suited the Honda RC213V and I hope that we can put together a solid weekend rain or shine. It’s a really intense part of the season now, pushing right until the end and I am determined to finish this season on a high. We still have some targets to achieve. I am really looking forward to what we have to show this weekend.”
“As a Honda rider, the Japanese GP is something really special and unique. It’s like no other race on the calendar. It’s a busy weekend but I really want to enjoy my time this weekend with all the people in this project and the Japanese fans, to say thank you for their efforts over the last three seasons together. In the past, this circuit has suited the Honda RC213V and I hope that we can put together a solid weekend rain or shine. It’s a really intense part of the season now, pushing right until the end and I am determined to finish this season on a high. We still have some targets to achieve. I am really looking forward to what we have to show this weekend.”
“First I want to say a big thank you to Honda HRC for putting their faith in my to come and ride MotoGP in Motegi and with the factory team. We have been working very hard in WorldSBK this year to make progress and last weekend we made another step. Now I need to switch mind and adapt to a new bike and a new challenge. Motegi is a circuit I have good memories at; in 2023 I was able to win there in Moto2.”
“First I want to say a big thank you to Honda HRC for putting their faith in my to come and ride MotoGP in Motegi and with the factory team. We have been working very hard in WorldSBK this year to make progress and last weekend we made another step. Now I need to switch mind and adapt to a new bike and a new challenge. Motegi is a circuit I have good memories at; in 2023 I was able to win there in Moto2.”