Brad Binder Interview: “Low G riding… Normally I try to rip it a new one!” - Exclusive

After four consecutive seasons as KTM’s leading MotoGP rider, Brad Binder endured a frustrating 2025 campaign as he slipped from fourth to eleventh in the world championship.

The South African finished behind new factory team-mate Pedro Acosta, as KTM’s latest RC16 proved a poor match for Binder’s naturally aggressive riding style.

A string of front-end crashes, particularly when pushing for a time attack,  hampered Binder’s hopes, dented his confidence and forced him to reassess how he extracts performance from the bike.

“Whenever put in big efforts, that’s when my problems really show up,” Binder explains in the following interview. 

“I need to find a way to be fast while putting in ‘low G’ riding almost.

“Normally, I just try to rip it a new one and see what happens. But it doesn't work like that anymore!”

Crash.net:
How will you look back on this season?

Brad Binder:
Well, I'm hoping that when I look back, it's just a lull! I'm hoping when I look back at 2025, further down the line, it's just a year where things were really, really difficult, but we came out the other side. That's my goal at the moment.

Crash.net:
Were you fighting the same problems all the time, or did it feel like you were shooting at a moving target, where each weekend was a different issue?

Brad Binder:
I think first of all, I was crashing a lot, losing the front a lot. So I lost a lot of confidence in the front end of the bike. That made me always really cautious on the front end. Because as soon as I tried to give some effort, I lost the front and went down, which was quite frustrating.

But we seem to have fixed that problem a little bit. We've made the front a lot more solid now and I feel like I can push on a lot better. But now it's building that speed back again.

Crash.net:
When did the front-end issues emerge, right from pre-season testing?

Brad Binder:
For me, we'd already had it for a big part of the ‘24 season. We had a lot of issues with the front end; however, we could still be quite fast when we needed to be. But this year was just trickier.

I think it was more difficult at the beginning. And somehow, now, we've found a balance that works really well, keeps the front a little bit more planted. So I'm hoping that this is where we start to climb out of the lull.

Crash.net:
The chatter we've heard about during the season - is that connected to the front end, or is that a different thing?

Brad Binder:
It's something different. We do have a lot of chatter at some tracks. For sure, during the second half of the year, there was a little bit less than we had at the beginning. But it's a problem that sometimes shows up in unexpected moments. Sometimes it's nothing, other times it goes crazy as soon as you push.

Crash.net:
Your qualifying wasn't exactly award-winning this season! Was that a chatter thing, front-end confidence or a combination of things?

Brad Binder:
I've never been a great qualifier, that's clear. But this year has been worse than ever as far as qualifying is concerned. The biggest thing for me has been whenever I go to put in a big effort, that's when my problems really show up. I need to find a way to be fast while putting in 'low G' riding almost. Those two things go against each other a little bit, and that's what I've been struggling with.

Crash.net:
So you can't force the bike?

Brad Binder:
Yeah, you need to go fast in a good way. Normally, when I try to go fast, I just try to rip it a new one and see what happens. But it doesn't work like that anymore!

Crash.net:
A different question about qualifying: Do you think the format should change to allow more riders to progress from Q1 to Q2?

Brad Binder:
It's something you've got to deal with. That's the format at the end of the day. You've just got to try and make it work to your advantage. It hasn't worked in mine, so we’re going to have to try and make it work somehow.

Crash.net:
Paul Trevathan talked about how Maverick showed that another kind of riding style can work with the KTM. Since you and Pedro seem to have a similar, aggressive style, was that the case for you as well?

Brad Binder:
Yeah, for sure. I think we've got some different extremes [of riding style on the KTM now]. Maverick is super clean, super neat. Enea [Bastianini] I think is really good on the pick-up [out of corners], but he's all about braking and rolling big corner speed.

Enea's also struggling a little bit when it comes to the single time-attack. So I think you need to find the style, or the comfort and the feeling, to make it count and really get the best out of the bike.

Crash.net:
Are you confident that you now know how to get that comfort or feeling for the 2026 bike?

Brad Binder:
Well, I understand it much better. I think my riding style has changed a lot. I'm a lot cleaner than I was. For sure, I've got some more work to do, but I feel like we're heading in a good direction.

Crash.net:
If you could pick one thing you wanted to improve for the 2026 machine, what would it be?

Brad Binder:
If I could choose one thing, I'd say that when I lift the bike, it doesn't spin as much. If I could just drive [out of the corners] every time I lifted the bike, I think that would make a massive difference.