Balaton Park Circuit
Chantra builds confidence at Balaton as Kunii adapts to the Honda WorldSBK machine
Honda HRC riders Chantra and Kunii face a steep learning curve as the fourth WorldSBK round kicks off at Balaton Park
The Honda HRC team is taking on round 4 of the 2026 Superbike World Championship, now underway at Hungary’s Balaton Park Circuit. Rider Somkiat Chantra is joined in the garage this weekend by Japanese rider Yuki Kunii, who stands in for the injured Jake Dixon.
The weekend’s action began on Friday morning, with a first free practice session. Thai rookie Chantra and substitute rider Kunii were keen to get to work, with Chantra using FP1 to build confidence around a track he’s never seen before, while Yunii was able to get a first taste of the WorldSBK level of competition. Doing their best to maximise this 45-minute opening session, the two riders worked methodically with their respective technicians to adjust the technical setup of their CBR1000RR-R machines. By the end of the session, the Thai rider was lying twenty-first with a time of 1’42.401, his Japanese teammate twenty-second with a 1’43.425.
The afternoon’s second practice ran in warm, dry conditions just like FP1, allowing the Honda HRC team to make the most of the track time. Working hard to make the riders as comfortable as possible with the bike setup, the squad were rewarded with positive progress during the course of this second preparatory phase. Able to take a second and a half off his earlier time, Chantra put in a best of 1’40.914 to place twentieth. Experiencing WorldSBK for the first time today, Kunii also moved in the right direction, improving on his FP1 time by 1.3 seconds to round out the day in twenty-second position (1’42.121).
The Honda HRC team now prepares for Saturday’s Superpole and the first of the weekend’s races
Somkiat Chantra 35 Honda HRC
“My first day here at Balaton. The track is not bad, quite stop-and-go, and I can say it’s a good circuit. This morning I focused on learning the layout and working step by step, and, overall, I was satisfied enough with my lap time. In the afternoon, we worked on improving the bike’s settings and electronics and the lap time was better than in the morning. All in all, we’re happy to have had a day that brought progresses. And tomorrow is another day, with FP3, Superpole and Race 1. I hope we can improve further and continue to get better and better.”
Yuki Kunii 92 Honda HRC
“We finished the first day smoothly with no issues, both on track and with the bike, and for me as a rider, this WorldSBK debut felt amazing. Clearly, the Honda WorldSBK machine is quite different from what I’m used to in Japan, so in these initial phases I tried to check everything, my position and the overall feeling. It’s true that I ran Pirelli tyres last year in Moto2 but, with such a different machine, that feeling also changes a lot. Anyway, little by little I felt more comfortable, even if there is still a big gap to the front. The team is working well, and we are moving in a positive way, even if there are still areas where we can improve. There’s not much time before Superpole and Race 1 tomorrow, but confidence is building and motivation is high. I will try my best.”
