Gloves off as Binder and Acosta fight it out for KTM bragging rights

With only two rounds left in 2024, Brad Binder has a huge fight on his hands to hold on to fifth place in the MotoGP championship.

The Red Bull KTM rider finished in a very credible sixth in a chaotic wet Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday, but his 2025 team-mate Pedro Acosta secured third place to close the gap to Binder in the title to a mere six points. The KTM Tech3 rider is on 197 points and Binder on 203.

Up ahead, Buriram main race winner Pecco Bagnaia (436) closed the gap to championship leader Jorge Martin (453) to 17 points. Marc Marquez (356) is third and Enea Bastianini (345) fourth.

Binder finished his first season in the premier class in 2020 in 11th place, before recording two consecutive sixth places. His fourth-place last year was his best MotoGP season.

Brad Binder laments tyre wear

The KTM man made a good start from 13th on the grid and was just off the podium pace for a large part of the race before his challenge faded towards the end. He also faded during the sprint race on Saturday in which he finished eighth.

“I knew it would be important to get to the front early because of the spray and that worked out pretty well. I felt really comfortable to thanks to my guys for the changes we made because I felt great in the wet,” Binder told the KTM website after the race.

“It was just a shame that I had squared the tire by the last four or five laps and was just spinning a lot. Hard to drive out of the corners.

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“I wanted more but having started 13th and scoring 6th then that’s all we had today.”

KTM eyes runner-up spot

With his team-mate Jack Miller finishing in fifth, it was a good outing for KTM in Thailand. While they trail Ducati (648) by a mile, KTM (302) did put some more breathing space between themselves and third-placed Aprilia (276).

Brad Binder’s brother Darryn Binder retired seven laps into the Moto2 race on Sunday.

The last round of the triple header takes place in Malaysia this weekend, with the season-ending event at Valencia two weeks later.