Brad Binder He admitted he endured a bad season in MotoGP in 2025 at “100%”, but the KTM rider knows where he can improve to make life “much easier” in 2026.
The next word appears binding Compete in the premier class for the seventh season since its inception KTM In the year in 2020. But the 30-year-old’s problems during the 2025 campaign saw Pedro Acosta cast a shadow over him in his first year with the Austrian outfit.
Acosta beat Binder in all 22 qualifying sessions in 2025And he broke the South African points total of the two KTM riders. The Spaniard scored 307 points to take P4 in the standings, while Binder scored just 155 points to finish the season P11 in the standings.
Binder was not finished a MotoGP season In the year His lowest finish in the riders’ championship since his debut campaign for KTM in 2020 saw him finish 11th. In 2025, he failed to secure a single Grand Prix podium in one season for the first time, with a best result of P4 in Indonesia.
Brad Binder thinks qualifying is his biggest weakness in 2025, change his mind
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Brad Binder has described improving his qualifying results as his 2026 ‘goal’.
Binder admitted his problems in 2025 made this season “100%” the worst year of his MotoGP career so far. But Binder can see the light at the end of the dark tunnel as he says improving his qualifying results in 2026 would do the world for him.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Brad Binder from career stats to wife
“I think I can improve, no doubt,” Binder said. Motorsport.com. “I haven’t qualified since I started racing in Moto3. Let’s just say it’s not my strong point.
But there are things I can improve on, and I think things are working a lot better at race distance now, or when the time starts to slow down. It will be much easier if we start more on the field.
“In most races, in the heat of the race, I’m not that slow. I’m not that good at the start. If we can qualify on the first two rows, I think it will be a different world. So that’s my goal. I have to be fast on lap one. When something clicks, we’ll be fine.”
Brad Binder has qualified in the top 10 twice in the 2025 MotoGP season.
Binder struggled to extract single lap performance from the KTM RC16 during the 2025 MotoGP season. The South African has only secured five Q2 appearances in 22 rounds this season and has managed to get past the top 10 just twice, P6 in Aragon and P10 in Germany.
Read more: Everything you need to know about KTM from MotoGP team riders to the hierarchy
Will Brad Binder still be a KTM rider in 2027?
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The British Grand Prix and Czech Grand Prix saw Binder produce his worst qualifying results in 2025, packing P19 at Silverstone and Brno. He also qualified P18 in Qatar, Japan and Malaysia, while KTM’s top rider was P6 (Maverick Vinales), P4 (Acosta) and P5 (Acosta).
All KTM riders struggled at Silverstone, with Acosta leading the brand in P14. Acosta took P7 as the top KTM rider to qualify in Brno, testing rider Pol Espargaro’s unqualified Binder in P14 when he replaced Vinales after the Spaniard suffered a shoulder injury in Germany.
Binder now sees qualifying as the biggest weakness from his disastrous season in MotoGP. After his worst qualifying result in 2025, he finished P14 at Silverstone and P8 at Brno. He also finished P13 in Qatar, P12 in Japan and P9 in Malaysia after finishing P18.
