Brad Binder confesses KTM ‘need more to get closer’ to Ducati

The Japanese MotoGP pretty much summed up the season for Brad Binder and his KTM Red Bull team.

After starting 11th, Binder fought his way through the field to take the fight to the top four, but lost pace due to rear tyre wear to finish seventh, 15.4 seconds off winner Marc Marquez’s time. On Saturday he crashed out of the sprint race from seventh place.

“Brad was just off the leading group and lost a bit of confidence with the rear tire in the last two laps which stopped him fight for that fourth place. But it was a good race with a lot of overtaking and a strong pace also,” team boss Francesco Guidotti told the KTM website.

Brad Binder remains fifth in title race

The nine points Binder earned saw move up to 192 in the title race, cementing his fifth place. His 2025 team-mate Pedro Acosta, who was ruled out of the main race due a shoulder injury, remains sixth on 181.

But Binder had much higher hopes when the season started, hoping to improve on his career-best fourth place in the championship last year. KTM just had no answer to the pace of Ducati quartet Jorge Martin (424), Pecco Bagnaia (404), Marquez (345) and Enea Bastianini (331).

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“I tried my best from the beginning until the end. That was good and positive for the race and we could try to carry a bit more speed,” Binder said after the Australia Grand Prix.

Another ‘small step’

“I managed to stick with the boys for a while but when they dropped the pace at the end I couldn’t quite go with them. We learned a lot this weekend and we made another small step but obviously we need more to get closer.”

Brad Binder’s brother Darryn Binder finished in the points again with a 12th place finish the Moto2 race at Phillip Island. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider is 17th in the championship on 54 points.

The second event of a triple-header takes place in Thailand this weekend. After that MotoGP heads to Malaysia and then to Spain for the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.