Honda HRC ready for Misano with Chantra and Vickers
Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”Ten days on from the sixth Aragón round and the factory Honda HRC team is already on site at Italy’s Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, ready for round seven of the 2026 Superbike World Championship.
Permanent rider Somkiat Chantra will be joined in the Honda HRC garage by Ryan Vickers, who will stand in for the recovering Jake Dixon. British rider Vickers, who competed in the opening round in Australia aboard the CBR1000RR-R as a wild card, has previous knowledge of the Italian track, having raced in WorldSBK in 2025.
The sixth championship round at Motorland Aragón saw Chantra reach the points zone in both long races, while the returning Dixon completed Race 1 with encouraging pace but did not compete on Sunday due to fatigue in his recovering wrist. Hence the decision to give the British rider a few additional weeks of recovery time.
As for the Misano World Circuit, both Chantra and Vickers know it well. Located in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy on the Adriatic coast, the track generally hosts the production-derived championship during the summer season, with the high temperatures posing an added challenge to riders. Various modifications have been made to the track since its inauguration in 1972. It now measures 4226 metres in length and incorporates 10 right-hand turns and 6 left-handers.
During a recent test at the track, Chantra completed more than 220 laps over the two-day session. Having worked on various setup and electronics solutions, the Thai rookie feels better prepared heading into the weekend’s racing.
“The Misano track is a very nice circuit that I like a lot. The location is also very nice because the track is close to the coast and the weather is usually good at this time of year. After the Aragón round I flew to Italy and now I’m looking forward to racing at Misano. We completed a lot of laps during the recent test, worked a lot on the bike setup and learned quite a few things, so now let’s see what we can do during the race weekend.”
“The Misano track is a very nice circuit that I like a lot. The location is also very nice because the track is close to the coast and the weather is usually good at this time of year. After the Aragón round I flew to Italy and now I’m looking forward to racing at Misano. We completed a lot of laps during the recent test, worked a lot on the bike setup and learned quite a few things, so now let’s see what we can do during the race weekend.”
“I'm really, really excited and thankful to Honda HRC for giving me the call-up for Misano this weekend. Obviously, replacing Jake Dixon is never a nice situation because it means somebody is injured, and I wish him all the best with his recovery. But I'm going to grab this opportunity with both hands. I did a one-day test with the factory Honda HRC team at Jerez at the end of 2025, and I got on really well with the crew and had a great time. So, I'm delighted to have this chance. To be riding for Honda HRC is a dream, and to do it at one of my favourite circuits makes it even more special. I'm looking forward to the weekend and looking forward to getting on the bike and trying to do the best job we can. The team looked like they had a promising test here recently, so hopefully we can start from a good base and build through the weekend from FP1 onwards, to hopefully achieve some good results.”
“I'm really, really excited and thankful to Honda HRC for giving me the call-up for Misano this weekend. Obviously, replacing Jake Dixon is never a nice situation because it means somebody is injured, and I wish him all the best with his recovery. But I'm going to grab this opportunity with both hands. I did a one-day test with the factory Honda HRC team at Jerez at the end of 2025, and I got on really well with the crew and had a great time. So, I'm delighted to have this chance. To be riding for Honda HRC is a dream, and to do it at one of my favourite circuits makes it even more special. I'm looking forward to the weekend and looking forward to getting on the bike and trying to do the best job we can. The team looked like they had a promising test here recently, so hopefully we can start from a good base and build through the weekend from FP1 onwards, to hopefully achieve some good results.”
Track Information:
Country: Italy
Name: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
Length: 4.226 km
Pole position: left
Corners: 10 right-hand, 6 left-hand
SBK RECORDS:
Best lap – Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1'32.687 (2024).
Superpole – Bulega (Ducati) 1'31.618 (2025).
2025 SBK RESULTS:
Race 1 - 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. Petrucci (Ducati)
Superpole race - 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. A. Lowes (bimota); 3. Locatelli (Yamaha)
Race 2 – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. Bautista (Ducati)
Weekend schedule (CET):
Friday
10.20 - 11.05 – SBK Free Practice 1
15.00 – 15.45 – SBK Free Practice 2
Saturday
9.40 – 10.00 – SBK Free Practice 3
11.15 – 11.30 – Superpole qualifying
15.30 – SBK Race 1
Sunday
9.15 – 9.25 – SBK Warm-up
11.00 – Superpole race
14.00 – SBK Race 2