Brad Binder on what made Marc Marquez “super impressive to watch” - Exclusive
Brad Binder says watching races back underlined how Marc Marquez always had something in reserve during his dominant title-winning MotoGP season.
While Brad Binder endured one of the toughest seasons of his MotoGP career, the South African came away with the impression that world champion Marc Marquez “always had a bit in his pocket”.
Although riders are focused on their own performance during a race weekend, most then watch the races back to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of their rivals.
No rival was stronger than Marc Marquez last season, with the new factory Ducati rider winning 25 of the 36 races he contested before being injured at Mandalika.
“Well, the biggest thing is when you watch the races back at home, you can see Marc looks like he always had that little bit in his pocket,” Brad Binder told Crash.net.
“Whenever he needed to pull something out of the bag or make a move, he always had that couple of per cent. So that was super impressive to watch.”
Marquez’s title charge included a run of 15 consecutive victories mid-season and, despite missing the final four rounds, he still finished 78 points clear of brother Alex Marquez.
Aside from early race errors at COTA, Jerez and Misano, plus wet conditions at Le Mans, Marquez’s only defeats came in the Silverstone Sprint, Catalunya Grand Prix, Motegi - where he was focused on securing the title - and the Mandalika Sprint.
While seven different riders claimed a victory, the only other rider to win back-to-back grands prix was Marco Bezzecchi, who achieved the feat after Marquez was sidelined by injuries sustained in their Mandalika clash.
Meanwhile, every rider in the final championship top ten scored at least one grand prix podium.
Binder, 11th overall, was the highest-ranked rider not to stand on the rostrum, the first season he has been without ‘champagne’ in his MotoGP career.
LCR’s Johann Zarco claimed a grand prix win but finished behind Binder in 12th, while fellow KTM rider Enea Bastianini and HRC’s Joan Mir were the lowest-ranked riders to score podiums, in 14th and 15th, respectively.
“This year has also been really up and down for many riders,” Binder admitted. “So it’s difficult to know who’s going to be where when you arrive at a different circuit.”
Binder will join team-mate Pedro Acosta, plus Tech3 riders Bastianini and Maverick Vinales in unveiling KTM’s 2026 MotoGP livery tomorrow (Tuesday).
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.