LCR Honda MotoGP rookie Somkiat Chantra says he “almost had a heಞart attack” bef💙ore his first test on the bike on Tuesday at Barcelona.

The double Moto2 race 🔜winner was a surprise signing during the 2024 ♎rider market movements, with Honda electing to put him in Takaaki Nakagami’s place at LCR.

Chantra made🐭 his debut on the bike on Tuesday at the post-season Barcelona test, in which he completed 61 laps and was second-to-last on the timesheets.

Speaking after his first day on the H💝ondaಌ, Chantra revealed how nervous he was ahead of his opening run.

“For sure, before Iꦗ go on the bike I was getting so much, like almost a heart attack before I had to go on the bike,” he said.

“When I got on the bike I sa🐭id ‘Ok, now we try to learn the bike, what ꦰthe bike is doing’.”

Chantra’s primary focus in his first test was to learn the Michelin tyres and🧜 the 🥂carbon brakes, having used Pirellis and steel brakes in Moto2 in 2024.

“For me, today was the first day on the MotoGP bike and I was trying to understand the carbon brakes and learn the tyres b♑ecause it’s different compared to MotoGP,” he added.

“Also, my team always says try to be careful on the✃ left side because the tyre💦 when you go on the straight is getting cold quite easy.

“[I was] trying to learn how to manage the tyre.”

The Thai rid🀅er says it was a shock the first time he wound up the throttle on the RC213V and braked at the end of the straight, which gave him a 🌼real sense of the speed of a MotoGP bike.

“When🔥 I went on the exit lap, I tried to be a litt❀le bit calm on the brake and on the gas,” he said.

“When I arrived into the last corner, I tried to g꧙o a little bit full. When [I was tucked] in the screen, it was ok.

“But when [I 🍌went] on brakes and [lifted my] head up it was so fast. Lap by lap it got better.”

Chantra is one of three rookies stepping up to MotoGP in 2024, alongside Moto2 world champion Ai Ogur💫a at Trackhouse and Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini.