SBK: Is Michelin good for Honda? Chantra matches his Superpole pace in the Jerez tests

Somkiat Chantra was the fastest at the end of two days of Superbike testing at Jerez. There were very few riders on track, but there were some interesting developments.

The Thai rider, on the evolved Honda CBR-RR, was faster than Sam Lowes’ Ducati. Lowes had topped the timesheets on day one, and by the end of his 77 laps, Chantra had nearly matched the benchmark he set in Superpole, on an ultra-soft tyre, at the final round of the World Championship just a few days ago.

Chantra’s best time was 1'38"703, while he clocked 1'38"643 in qualifying, which left him down in 18th place. In Race 2, the former MotoGP rider set the fastest lap in 1'39"502, making him the quickest of the Honda HRC duo. The times from the latest World Championship round were set on Pirelli tyres, whereas everyone at this test was, of course, running Michelin tyres, which will become the sole supplier in 2027. Chantra was therefore eight tenths quicker. Comparing times from different days at Jerez is always very difficult, and even more so on this occasion. Honda ran not only on radically different tyres, but also with a prototype of the new 2027 CBR-RR (here are the technical updates) and Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs, which will be the same for everyone from next season.

There was no direct comparison with Sam Lowes’ Marc VDS Ducati, which had finished the previous day with a time of 1'38"790. The satellite team used just one of the ten testing days available throughout next season, leaving more in-depth experimentation for future outings. On this occasion, Chantra was faster than both test rider Jonathan Rea (63 laps) and Jake Dixon (74 laps). BMW also ran Miguel Oliveira only on the first day, while test rider Michael van der Mark stayed on track, proving particularly useful during this early phase of testing.

In 2027, the BMW M1000RR will return to the prototype frame used in 2024 under the technical concessions, with which Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the championship. The following year, after losing those concessions, BMW’s riders had to switch to the production-homologated chassis, as Oliveira and Petrucci have done this year. For next season, BMW will homologate a new version of its superbike, giving it the opportunity to take a step back—a move its engineers hope will allow Oliveira and new signing Brad Binder to get back into contention for the top positions. Van der Mark knows the 2024 chassis well, having used it throughout the World Championship season, so he provided valuable feedback over 65 laps, although the conditions were not particularly suitable for setting representative times.

The next round of Superbike testing will once again take place at Jerez, on November 25–26, with a much larger field. The riders arriving from MotoGP—Binder, Morbidelli and Miller—will be absent; they will make their debuts on their respective BMW, Ducati and Yamaha machines on December 8–9 in Valencia.

1. Chantra (Honda) 1'38"703; 2. Rea (Honda) 1'38"866; 3. Dixon (Honda) 1:39'295; 4. van der Mark (BMW) 1'39"995.

1. Sam Lowes (Ducati) 1'38"790; 2. Oliveira (BMW) 1'39"317; 3. Rea (Honda) 1'39"717; 4. Chantra (Honda) 1'40"120; 5. Dixon (Honda) 1'40"140; 6. van der Mark (BMW) 1'40"580.

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