Brad Binder out to ease mounting MotoGP pressure at Le Mans

Brad Binder predicted earlier in the year that it’s only a matter of time before he breaks his MotoGP main race duck. There could not have been a better time for him to do it than at the French Grand Prix this weekend.

After starting the season like a house on fire with second places in the season opener in Qatar, things haven’t gone the Red Bull KTM’s rider way. After four rounds, he is seventh in the MotoGP world championship going into Le Mans.

Jorge Martin (92) leads the title race, followed by Pecco Bagnaia (75), Enea Bastianini (70), Pedro Acosta (69), Maverick Vinales (63), Marc Marques (60) and Binder (59).

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Brad Binder’s winning drought

Adding to the pressure Binder is under is the fact that KTM Tech3 rider Acosta is ahead of him in his rookie season. The Spanish teenage sensation is the talk of the town in the premier class and looks set to replace Jack Miller alongside Binder for the 2025 season.

The South African’s last main race win came n Austria in 2001. In his 51 main races since, he has been on the podium nine times. Since the introduction of main races last year, he has stood on the top step of Saturday races twice.

Binder is confident he can strike back at Le Mans, a track where he last year came second in the sprint race and worked his way from 20th on the starting grid to sixth place in the main race.

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Good vibes

“I reckon we are in for a good weekend to be honest and I’m excited to get back on the bike,” he told media this week.

“I got my feeling back at Jerez. The races didn’t go according to plan but I think we are in a much better place than we have been.”

Binder says that him team put some of the things they tried during testing following the Spanish MotoGP to use in France. The KTM man clocked laps around Jerez during which he posted the sixth best lap time.

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New rear shock

“We tested a little bit of a different rear shock that had some good points, like stability was a little bit better,” Binder added

“We are going to start with it and see again what is better. The standard or the different type of rear shock. Other than that, nothing serious.”

The sprint race starts at 3pm on Saturday and the main race at 2pm on Sunday.