Brad Binder takes on Ducati pair and Acosta in MotoGP title race

His sixth shot at the MotoGP championship which starts this weekend in Thailand is likely to be Brad Binder’s most challenging.

If the Red Bull KTM rider’s RC16 can finally stay with the high-flying Ducatis, he will not only have the daunting task of keeping Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia in check, but also his new team-mate Pedro Acosta. The 20-year-old Spanish hot shot was faster in the pre-season tests in Malaysia and Thailand and will be keen to pip the South African in delivering KTM the premier class title it so desperately wants.

New faces around Brad Binder

Like Binder, Acosta has risen through the KTM structures and won the Moto3 and Moto2 titles before making his debut for KTM’s Tech3 team last year. An impressive debut MotoGP season last year during which he was pipped to fifth place in the title race by Binder secured him a ride alongside the South African in the Austrian manufacturer’s top team at the cost of Jack Miller.

KTM also made two strategic acquisitions in signing up Bagnaia’s 2024 factory Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales from Aprilia to bolster its Tech3 team who’ll be sporting the same colours as the main outfit this year. Bastianini brings valuable insights from the Ducati garage, while Vinales is sure to have learnt a few secrets from his time at Aprilia which have performed very well when tracks suit them.

Completing KTM’s refreshed onslaught is Aki Ajo, who replaces Francesco Guidotti as Red Bull KTM’s team manager. The Finn runs the show for the orange manufacturer in the smaller classes and guided both Binder and Acosta to their world titles.

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Bagnaia vs Marquez

Ajo will have his hands full in the fight against the two favourites for the 2025 title, Marquez and Bagnaia. Marquez will fancy his chances of a seventh premier class title after reviving his career in moving from Repsol Honda to Gresini Ducati last year.

Bagnaia will be up for task in what is predicted to be an almighty battle. The Italian put up a good show in his quest for a third title last year, but was eventually outclasses by Jorge Martin who won his maiden MotoGP title.

Martin’s tough task to retain his title on an Aprilia this year got even tougher when he broke bones in his last hand during practice this week which will rule him out for at least the season opener. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori replace the Spaniard in Thailand.

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Brad Binder’s winless streak

One of the first things on Binder’s to-do list this season will be to stand on the top step of the podium on a Sunday. It has been almost four years since his second main race victory in sensational fashion on slick tyres in the rain in Austria in 2021. Since then, he has stood on the podium nine times and added two sprint race victories since the introduction of the Saturday races in 2023.

He will need consistent podium in 2025 if he wants to record his best season in his MotoGP career which has thus far yielded 11th, sixth, sixth, fourth and fifth place finishes.

“It is crazy to think that this is my sixth season in MotoGP already,” he said earlier this year.

ALSO READ: Brad Binder finishes season on a high to secure KTM bragging rights

“To be honest 2024 was the year where I probably learnt the most. Coming into 2025 I feel that it has made me a much better rider. My goal for the season is to take what I learnt and make that step forward to fight with the guys at the front.”

The first Thailand MotoGP is the first of 22 races on the 2025 calendar. The 13-lap sprint race at the 4.55km Buriram International Circuit starts at 10am on Saturday and the main race at 10am on Sunday.

Brad Binder’s younger brother Darryn Binder returns to the Moto2 grid this year for Gresini Moto2, while another South African, Ruche Moodley, turns out as a Moto3 rookie for BOE Motorsports on a KTM.

2025 MotoGP teams

• Ducati Lenovo: Marc Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia
• Red Bull KTM: Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder
• Aprilia Racing: Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi
• Monster Energy Yamaha: Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins
• Honda: Luca Marini, Joan Mir
• Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati: Fabio di Giannantonio, Franco Morbidelli
• Gresini Racing Ducati: Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer
• Prima Pramac Yamaha: Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller
• LCR Honda: Johann Zarco, Somkiat Chantra
• Trackhouse Racing Aprilia: Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura
• Red Bull KTM Tech3: Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales