A Friday of learning and progression for Chantra and Kunii at Most
Autodrom MostFriday’s WorldSBK practices at Autodrom Most prove instructive for Honda HRC riders Chantra and Kunii
The 2026 Superbike World Championship continues this weekend, with the action playing out at the Czech track of Most. Factory rider Somkiat Chantra and replacement rider Yuki Kunii, who stands in for Jake Dixon, used Friday’s practice sessions to get to grips with a track they are both seeing for the first time.
During the morning’s opening practice, the two riders focused on familiarising themselves with Autodrom Most’s winding layout. This very challenging and technical track requires a certain level of confidence and feeling, not easy to find during a single session. The Honda HRC duo nevertheless made progress throughout the 45-minute phase, despite a brief red-flag interruption mid-session, with rookie Chantra placing twenty-first at the session’s end (1’34.060), followed by substitute rider Kunii, twenty-second with a 1’34.836.
A second free practice allowed Chantra and Kunii to start adapting their CBR1000RR-R machines to the twisting track based also on what they learned during FP1. Both riders were immediately able to improve on their earlier times and worked diligently with their technicians to find a technical setup that would allow them to ride more smoothly. By the end of Friday’s sessions, Chantra had put in a quickest time of 1’32.706, and Kunii a 1’33.780, both shaving more than a full second off their best times of the morning.
“Today was all about learning. This morning was quite a struggle because everything is new for me at this track. I was missing the braking points, lines, and feel for the grip, so it took some time to adapt. But with each run, we improved the lap time, and I started to better understand the layout and key areas of the circuit. In the afternoon we focused a little more on pace and consistency, trying both a longer run and a new tyre. We made a good step compared to the morning, which is positive, but we are still quite far from the front and need to continue improving for tomorrow. I want to keep working with the team to take another step on Saturday.”
“Today was all about learning. This morning was quite a struggle because everything is new for me at this track. I was missing the braking points, lines, and feel for the grip, so it took some time to adapt. But with each run, we improved the lap time, and I started to better understand the layout and key areas of the circuit. In the afternoon we focused a little more on pace and consistency, trying both a longer run and a new tyre. We made a good step compared to the morning, which is positive, but we are still quite far from the front and need to continue improving for tomorrow. I want to keep working with the team to take another step on Saturday.”
“My first impression of Most is positive. It’s a fun track but also a very technical one, especially in sectors one and two. As this is my first time here, today was mainly about understanding the circuit and building confidence lap by lap. This morning I struggled a little with arm pump, which made it difficult to push in some areas, but overall, the feeling with the bike was not bad. In the afternoon we improved the lap time and reduced the gap, which is encouraging and gives us a more positive feeling compared to the previous Balaton round. There are still many areas where we need to improve and I also need to better manage the arm pump, but all in all we’ve had a constructive first day and I’m focused on continuing the work tomorrow.”
“My first impression of Most is positive. It’s a fun track but also a very technical one, especially in sectors one and two. As this is my first time here, today was mainly about understanding the circuit and building confidence lap by lap. This morning I struggled a little with arm pump, which made it difficult to push in some areas, but overall, the feeling with the bike was not bad. In the afternoon we improved the lap time and reduced the gap, which is encouraging and gives us a more positive feeling compared to the previous Balaton round. There are still many areas where we need to improve and I also need to better manage the arm pump, but all in all we’ve had a constructive first day and I’m focused on continuing the work tomorrow.”
