“Up in the air”: Brad Binder a “couple of weeks” away from knowing MotoGP future

Brad Binder says his future is “a little bit up in the air” after it was confirmed he will not race at the factory KTM MotoGP team in 2027.

The South African has been a KTM rider throughout his MotoGP career, which began in 2020, and his association with the Austrian manufacturer dates back to 2015 when he joined the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in Moto3, winning the lightweight class title with the team a year later.

But Binder has fallen out of favour at KTM over the last season-and-a-half due to poor results, with no win since 2021 and no podium since 2024 when he was second at the opener in Qatar.

Binder went on to finish fifth in the MotoGP riders’ standings that year, two points ahead of Pedro Acosta in the Spaniard’s rookie year.

By now, Acosta is the affirmative leader of the KTM riders in MotoGP and took the brand’s first win of any kind since the Jerez Sprint in 2023 (which Binder won) when he crossed the line first in the Thailand Sprint in February.

Acosta’s form has earned him a move to the Ducati Lenovo Team for 2027, but Binder’s now sees him facing an uncertain future, with his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing seat taken by one of the team’s two new signings, and few other options available in MotoGP.

The South African admits that his future is still undecided, and says it will be a “couple of weeks” before things are more concrete.

“I like that idea Pedro [Acosta] has,” Brad Binder joked, referring to his current team-mate’s recent contract announcement, when he spoke to the media ahead of this weekend’s German Grand Prix (10–12 July).

“But let's see, I don't know.

“Still a little bit up in the air, but for sure we'll know things a lot more clear in the next couple of weeks.”

Binder added: “For sure my manager's running around doing his job. We need to see what happens. 

“It's clear when one door closes, another opens. So let's see, let's see what we can find and then we make a decision from there.”