In the year After debuting in MotoGP in 2020, Brad Binder has been essential to the development of the KTM RC16, but there are still parts on the bike that he desperately needs to change.
KTM given binding In the year The first step in their factory MotoGP team to complete the lower classes in the colors of the Austrian brand in 2020. Binder scored his first race win in his third start at the 2020 Czech Grand Prix, but only managed one more victory.
Binder took his second and most recent MotoGP victory at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, with nine more podiums since then. The 30-year-old has failed to score a single Grand Prix podium in a single season for the first time in 2025’s 22-round race.
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Brad Binder wants KTM to improve how fast their bike spins
The South African has now failed to qualify in 40 Grand Prix starts, with a P2 finish at the 2024 season opener in Qatar. Binder scored the best result of the 2025 MotoGP season in IndonesiaAfter rising from P15 on the grid to get P4.
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A number of factors combined to cause Binder to lose track, but the KTM RC16 sees the way the tires spin under acceleration as the main cause of the problem. If Binder had the choice, he would have KTM improve how the RC16 exits corners.
“If I could pick one thing, I’d say it doesn’t spin much when I pick up the bike,” Binder said. Crash. I think it would make a big difference if I could ride the bike every time I picked it up (coming out of the corner).
Pedro Acosta KTM RC16 Brad Binder
KTM has taken a big step forward in the performance of the RC16 for the 2025 season by introducing a new aero package at the 13th round of the Austrian Grand Prix. Pedro AcostaEnea Bastianini and Binder all finished in the top seven for KTM at the Red Bull Ring.
But Acosta took advantage of the upgrade to score his first podium with his works KTM team at the previous Grand Prix of Chechnya, while Binder matched P7 at the Austrian GP in Hungary and only won at the Grand Prix of Indonesia (P4) and Portugal (P5).
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Acosta finished third at the Czech GP, the first of five podiums in the last 11 rounds of 2025. The 21-year-old has finished first in nine of his last 11 races and was running P6 in Japan before retiring on lap 19/24.
Binder now hopes to see how KTM will use the RC16 tires as it tries to respond in 2026. Binder problems with the Michelin rear tire It was introduced in the 2024 season and caused repeated problems, and could be a challenge in 2026.
