Another points finish for Chantra in Misano Race 1 as Vickers' race ends early
Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”Mixed fortunes for Chantra and Vickers in Saturday’s SBK race, the Thai rider scoring a point and the Brit unfortunately suffering a crash in the early stages.
The seventh round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship is currently in play, with Saturday at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” bringing the first of the weekend’s three races. Earlier in the day, a short practice gave the SBK field a final opportunity to prepare for the subsequent Superpole. While Chantra continued to work with his technicians, Vickers was hit by another rider at the very start of the session and suffered a heavy crash. Taken to the medical centre and fortunately diagnosed with only a contusion to his left hand, Ryan was declared fit to continue with his weekend.
Qualifying was next on the schedule, with Chantra and Vickers doing their best to set a strong Superpole lap time. Completing five laps during a somewhat chaotic session that saw incidents for other riders, Somkiat set a fastest time of 1’33.403 in the final minute. Teammate Ryan set a best of 1’34.094. These references meant that the duo placed nineteenth and twenty-first in the final standings.
The qualifying results saw both Chantra and Vickers line up on the seventh row of the grid for Race 1, which took place in hot conditions mid-afternoon. The Thai rider gained four positions over the opening five laps by staying focused and avoiding mistakes. As gaps gradually opened up throughout the race, he eventually found himself running alone in the closing stages, several seconds adrift of the riders ahead and comfortably clear of those behind. With just two laps remaining, the retirement of two riders ahead promoted Chantra into the points-scoring positions, and he crossed the line in fifteenth place. Though the result brought a championship point, it of course does not reflect the level of performance he and the team are aiming for.
Vickers lined up determined to make progress in Race 1. Unfortunately, the British rider crashed on lap four. Determined to continue, he rejoined the race despite being separated from the rest of the field and remained on track until lap twelve before eventually returning to the pits and retiring.
“Today’s race was really tough. Right from the early stages, I didn't have the same good feeling with the bike as we had during the recent tests and I was struggling with grip, especially at the rear. We have had this feeling since yesterday and, unfortunately, we weren't able to improve it enough for the race. We tried a setup very similar to what we used during the recent Misano test, but the feeling wasn't the same which is a bit frustrating. Now we need to analyse the data carefully with the team and see what we can do to improve the bike for tomorrow's Superpole Race and Race 2. We will keep of course working and try again tomorrow.”
“Today’s race was really tough. Right from the early stages, I didn't have the same good feeling with the bike as we had during the recent tests and I was struggling with grip, especially at the rear. We have had this feeling since yesterday and, unfortunately, we weren't able to improve it enough for the race. We tried a setup very similar to what we used during the recent Misano test, but the feeling wasn't the same which is a bit frustrating. Now we need to analyse the data carefully with the team and see what we can do to improve the bike for tomorrow's Superpole Race and Race 2. We will keep of course working and try again tomorrow.”
“It’s been a difficult day here at Misano. We had a good plan for FP3, and I was actually feeling quite positive with the changes we made, but unfortunately, I then got taken out by another rider very early in the session. It was quite a big crash, a heavy impact, and I hit my left hand, but after being checked over at the medical centre, I was able to continue. A big thank you to the team for rebuilding the bike in time for Superpole. Missing most of FP3 meant we lost valuable track time and went into qualifying with a few unknowns, particularly regarding the qualifying tyre, which I hadn’t used this season. Starting from further back than we wanted made for a difficult race and then, unfortunately, I crashed in the early stages. I was able to rejoin and continue for a number of laps, but in the end I had to retire. It hasn’t been the day we were hoping for, but we’ve gathered some information and we’ll try to come back stronger tomorrow.”
“It’s been a difficult day here at Misano. We had a good plan for FP3, and I was actually feeling quite positive with the changes we made, but unfortunately, I then got taken out by another rider very early in the session. It was quite a big crash, a heavy impact, and I hit my left hand, but after being checked over at the medical centre, I was able to continue. A big thank you to the team for rebuilding the bike in time for Superpole. Missing most of FP3 meant we lost valuable track time and went into qualifying with a few unknowns, particularly regarding the qualifying tyre, which I hadn’t used this season. Starting from further back than we wanted made for a difficult race and then, unfortunately, I crashed in the early stages. I was able to rejoin and continue for a number of laps, but in the end I had to retire. It hasn’t been the day we were hoping for, but we’ve gathered some information and we’ll try to come back stronger tomorrow.”
