“Historic”: A Thai rider to compete in every class of the Moto series at Aragon

Written by Isha Reshmi Mohan

With Chip Nakarin making his return to Moto2 in place of Mario Aji, who is still recovering from surgery, we will see a Thai rider in each category of the Moto series at the Aragon Grand Prix for the first time ever.

Credit: Honda Team Asia on X

On Thursday, the Honda Racing Team announced that Nakarin would be replacing Mario Aji, who is recovering from surgery on his right shoulder due to "several dislocations" in recent months, according to Honda Team Asia.

Also under Honda, Tatchakorn Buasri began his journey on the Road to MotoGP after making his mark in the Thailand Talent Cup, eventually progressing to the Asia Talent Cup and the Asia Road Racing Championship.

He completed his first full season in 2024 with Honda Team Asia and continues to compete in Moto3 in the 2025 season.

And finally, Somkiat Chantra became the first Thai rider to reach the premier class with Honda Idemitsu in the 2025 season. The timing was perfect, as Thailand hosted the season opener and also organized the first-ever MotoGP launch event earlier this year in February.

With strong support from Thai fans, the country now celebrates having a Thai rider in every stage of the Moto series. As Chantra shared in an interview posted by MotoGP: “It’s historic.”

There is hope that this moment could lead to increased support for developing more Thai talent, aiming to match the success of Japanese riders. 

It also highlights the growing urgency for a contract renewal to continue hosting MotoGP at Buriram, which became a hot topic in March, as the current agreement is set to expire at the end of next year. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for Thailand in the MotoGP world.

Don't miss all the action of the ninth round of MotoGP at Aragon on Sunday at 1 PM BST!