Czech MotoGP return a bitter reminder of what could have been for one rider

There was nothing particularly typical about the 2020 MotoGP season. The COVID pandemic forced it to be shortened to 14 rounds, which didn’t start until July, with most events double-headers at the same tracks.

The Czech Grand Prix in 2020 was the third round of that particular campaign and the first not to be held at Jerez. In the weeks previous, Marc Marquez had suffered a career-altering arm injury, while Yamaha and Fabio Quartararo looked well on their way after a brace of victories.

The Brno track surface was in dire need of refreshing, which ultimately led to the event dropping off the calendar after the 2020 race until last year.

This opened the door for KTM to shine. Brad Binder impressed in his maiden race when he recovered from an off early on to show pace that would have threatened the leading riders.

This was the form expected of the South African, who stunned in Moto3 in 2016 on his way to the title and became the darling of the KTM junior rider system. His step to MotoGP with the factory KTM squad in 2020 was heavily anticipated to be the start of something special.

And at Brno, those indications proved correct. He came from seventh on the grid to score his and KTM’s first victory by 5.2s over Petronas SRT Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli. It should have been a KTM 1-2 that day with Pol Espargaro, though the Spaniard found himself on the receiving end of an overly aggressive lunge from Johann Zarco at Turn 1.

Binder’s victory copped praise from a number of corners. Zarco, whom Binder replaced at KTM, noted at the time: “He's doing the job that I was not able to do; they made the big step during the winter with the bike. But he's coming with a fresh mind, and this is helping much more to do the right job on the KTM, and he's proving already now in his third race. In Jerez he was pretty strong, and the other rider[s] were lucky that he crashed because he could have been on the podium, I think.”

The rest of the 2020 season didn’t quite live up to the lofty highs of the Czech Grand Prix. But, at that point, it really did seem like only a matter of time before Binder was a true frontrunner. His results grew more consistent in 2021, albeit generally from average qualifying results. The highlight came in Austria, when he sensationally stayed on dry tyres on a wet track to win.

While there were no podiums either side of that, it was the kind of performance the greats have in their highlight reels. And thus, the hype around Binder remained. He continued to be a consistent campaigner over the next two seasons, with 2023 proving to be his best, thanks to two sprint wins, five grand prix podiums and fourth in the standings.

But Binder hasn’t scored a podium since the opening round of the 2024 campaign. The RC16, since that Brno win in 2020, hasn’t taken flight in the way that was anticipated. But that is also true of Binder, now 30 years old and in the middle of his seventh year in the premier class.

Binder hasn't excelled in Acosta head-to-head

The arrival of Pedro Acosta to the grid in 2024 ushered in KTM’s newest superstar, and he has so far been able to continue justifying the hype around him.

Binder, on the other hand, has been mired in average results well beneath a rider of his calibre. In 2025, his best result was fourth at an odd Indonesian Grand Prix. So far in 2026, his best has been a seventh on two occasions. Acosta, by contrast, has had three podiums and a sprint win on a KTM bike still riddled with problems. In qualifying, Acosta has beaten Binder 8-0 so far.

Acosta is unquestionably a generational talent. His battle with Marc Marquez at Hungary was a preview of what will be possible when he has better machinery underneath him. Going head-to-head with Acosta is an immensely difficult task, but it’s one that Binder hasn’t particularly looked capable of getting close to doing consistently.

That, in turn, has raised question marks over just how justified the hype was around Binder. When examining both of his MotoGP victories, both came in unusual circumstances. Now, that takes nothing away from the job done on the day. But we’ve yet to see him win a grand prix with everything being even.

KTM hasn’t sat idily by amid Binder’s dip in form. It ended his long-standing crew chief relationship with Andres Madrid at the end of last year, believing it had become too friendly, and placed Binder with Toprak Razgatlioglu’s former World Superbike title-winning crew chief Phil Marron.

“We came to the conclusion that we needed a change with Brad because we kept making the same mistakes,” KTM boss Pit Beirer told Speedweek last year. “Not in terms of the technology or the bike itself; it’s all about strategy. When do I go out? Who do I go out behind, and with which tyre? There are also important points.

“Brad and Andres have become good friends over the past few years, a perfect team in their own right. But that also meant that many things were no longer discussed. There were never any arguments; there was a great deal of routine, and we wanted to break that up.”

Is this Binder's last season in MotoGP?

Understandably, Acosta’s signature for 2027 has been highly sought after, with Ducati seemingly snaring the Spaniard. Binder, meanwhile, is likely facing his last season in MotoGP for the time being.

KTM is set to completely refresh its factory team line-up for 2027. Alex Marquez’s runner-up championship form last year has propelled him into a well-deserved factory seat with the Austrian brand. And joining him will be Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has equally impressed on satellite Ducati machinery just three years on from his time in MotoGP almost coming to an end after just two seasons.

At Tech3, Guenther Steiner appears to be heavily favouring a rookie for one of his bikes. There is a chance Binder could remain, but the second bike could also go to Maverick Vinales. The Spaniard was KTM’s best rider for the first half of last year, but has battled injury since.

When asked about his future at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Binder sounded somewhat resigned to the situation: “Well, to be honest, who knows? For sure, there are a lot of seats gone. There’s still a few left, not too many. As much as I’d love to be here for sure, but sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan, I guess. But I’m hoping that it still works out in my favour. Of course, we’re still talking with everybody, trying to see what we can find, but I can’t say too much.”

Binder, of course, could still find himself within the KTM fold as a test rider. KTM has favoured a strong test team in recent times, pairing Dani Pedrosa with Pol Espargaro. Binder’s experience of the KTM, as well as his race fitness, is an attractive option for KTM, especially with Pedrosa no longer keen to make any race appearances.

The removal of wildcard rides for 2027 would mean Binder’s only hopes of racing, if he does take on a test rider role, would be as an injury stand-in.

And as we return to Brno and the Czech Grand Prix this weekend, it’s hard to believe this is the situation Binder finds himself in six years on from a win that should have been the beginning of so much more…