Brad Binder ‘fingers crossed’ that KTM’s Brazilian Grand Prix tire simulation is correct

When Goiania starts the Brazilian GP on Sunday, it will be the 24th different track Binder has raced at in his MotoGP career. If the 30-year-old finishes Sunday’s race on the rostrum, it will be the 10th special track where Goiania has also taken the podium.

Binder has not achieved a podium finish since finishing P2 at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix in 2024. The South African started the 2026 season in P7 at the Thai Grand Prix in early March with P6 as his team-mate. Pedro Acosta won the Buriram Sprint.

KTM have told Brad Binder they expect them to wear a ‘higher’ rear tire at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

KTM has paid a premium to make the RC16 a more complete bike. But this year, their approach was not just about improving the tires of their bikes. Binder suffered a lot with tire wear in 2025.And KTM rear tire wear is expected to be high in Brazil.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the Brazilian Grand Prix, including Goiania statistics

KTM’s simulations for the Brazilian GP for Goiania suggest that rear tire handling will be a challenge due to the layout and surface of the circuit, based on the limited data they have. So, Binder has his “fingers crossed” that the KTM simulations can avoid any major issues.

Binder said, through MotoMatters: “From my understanding, this area should be very hard on the rear tire, at least that’s what the simulator expects, or what our people who work in the tire department expect – a high wear track.

“So, we’ll have to wait and see, because you never know until you spin around. Fingers crossed it works well!”

Read more: Experts predict the Brazilian GP, ​​including whether Marc Marquez can win

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Riders and teams will have to quickly learn how the Michelin tires interact with the Goiania track surface during practice at this weekend’s Brazilian GP. The track’s fast right corners are where drivers brake at large lean angles to punish the right side of the front tires.

KTM will also be concerned about how the RC16 handles the Michelin rear tire as Binder, Acosta and Tech3 riders Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini accelerate alongside their tires. To control any problems with dressing, Michelin has brought its solid rubber carcasses to Brazil..

Michelin has brought its usual soft and medium rear tire to the Austrian Grand Prix, supplying the hard tire carcass that it will take to Thailand and Indonesia. Soft and medium carcasses are designed to reduce heat when the tire rotates.