Thailand’s first Grand Prix winner – Somkiat Chantra
Somkiat Chantra has been elevated to the history books over the weekend, with the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider claiming his first Moto2 win to become Thailand’s first ever Grand Prix winner.
Chantra’s Road to MotoGP began in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup and he became the first Champion from Thailand back in 2016. From there he moved into what is now JuniorGP, before his Grand Prix debut came as a Moto3 wildcard at his home event at Buriram in 2018. He took an impressive ninth place and put his first points on the board.
In 2019, Chantra’s first season as a full-time Grand Prix rider saw him move straight into the Moto2 World Championship with Idemitsu Honda Team Asia. He took two top tens in his rookie season, another in 2020 and then finished in the top five in 2021 for the first time, taking fifth in Austria.
1 Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – 25’40.876
2 Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – Kalex – +3.230
3 Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) – Kalex – +4.366
2022 began on the back foot as Chantra missed the season opener in Qatar with a hand injury and was even unsure if he would be able to race in Indonesia.
However the Thai rider made the start and with it some history: taking an early lead, the number 35 then pulled a gap on the field and dominated all the way to the flag, becoming Thailand’s first ever Grand Prix winner and the first former ATC rider to win in the intermediate class.
2022 Mandalika Moto2 Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Somkiat CHANTRA | KALEX | 25m40.876 |
| 2 | Celestino VIETTI | KALEX | +3.230 |
| 3 | Aron CANET | KALEX | +4.366 |
| 4 | Sam LOWES | KALEX | +7.918 |
| 5 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KALEX | +12.228 |
| 6 | Ai OGURA | KALEX | +12.384 |
| 7 | FermÃn ALDEGUER | BOSCOSCURO | +12.696 |
| 8 | Tony ARBOLINO | KALEX | +14.547 |
| 9 | Pedro ACOSTA | KALEX | +17.786 |
| 10 | Albert ARENAS | KALEX | +18.327 |
| 11 | Joe ROBERTS | KALEX | +18.509 |
| 12 | Cameron BEAUBIER | KALEX | +18.566 |
| 13 | Jorge NAVARRO | KALEX | +19.711 |
| 14 | Jeremy ALCOBA | KALEX | +19.960 |
| 15 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | KALEX | +20.551 |
| 16 | Marcel SCHROTTER | KALEX | +23.047 |
| 17 | Marcos RAMIREZ | MV AGUSTA | +23.218 |
| 18 | Manuel GONZALEZ | KALEX | +24.179 |
| 19 | Romano FENATI | BOSCOSCURO | +25.133 |
| 20 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | KALEX | +26.954 |
| 21 | Filip SALAC | KALEX | +27.678 |
| 22 | Gabriel RODRIGO | KALEX | +29.548 |
| 23 | Zonta VAN DEN GOORB | KALEX | +31.773 |
| 24 | Alessandro ZACCONE | KALEX | +32.436 |
| 25 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | KALEX | +33.974 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | 4 Sean Dylan KELLY | KALEX | 3 laps |
| DNF | 96 Jake DIXON | KALEX | 4 laps |
| DNF | 81 Keminth KUBO | KALEX | 9 laps |
| DNF | 24 Simone CORSI | MV AGUSTA | 12 laps |
