Binder ends tough season down but looking forward to 2026

Brad Binder ended his 2025 MotoGP season with an eighth-place finish in Valencia, bringing to an end what has been a tough year for the Red Bull KTM rider.

Binder finished the riders championship in 11th place, a difficult step back after ending the previous campaign in fifth. It is the first time the South African has ended a season outside the Top 10 since 2020, which was also an eleventh-place finish, with the last four years ranging from a high of fourth to a low of sixth.

The season was marred by poor qualifying, and that trend continued this past weekend, in stark contrast to teammate Pedro Acosta, who managed to out-qualify Binder for the entire season after moving up from the Red Bull Tech3 team at the start of the year.

Under the South African’s guidance, the RC16 never quite found consistency throughout the year, and Binder’s side of the garage again lacked the crucial pace needed, even though he ultimately secured a positive eighth place.

“I wanted more from (Sunday). I had a good start again, not quite like Saturday, but I wanted to pick off more guys, but I lacked a bit more pace, and the best I could manage eighth.” Binder said after the race.

With a highest finish of fourth this year, the South African never managed to crack the podium places despite showing some improvement in the second half of the season. 

With plenty of pressure set to fall on his shoulders heading into next year — the final season of his KTM contract — the hope is that Tuesday’s post season test will mark the beginning of something positive heading into what is now a crucial 2026 campaign.

“A tough year. I feel like I can do a lot better than I did. Things did not gel this season, even if we did make some small improvements at the end. I’m looking forward to Tuesday,” he concluded.

Team manager Aki Ajo took positives from the final race of the season, as well as the season overall, despite the many challenges the team has had to overcome.

“A solid finish to the season for us with three riders in the top ten, and we can be happy with this. Ajo said

“Tracks and circumstances change, and the competition in MotoGP is so tight that results can be different. We always want more, but we have made big steps. We need to push on because we are getting closer to our target,” he concluded.