BINDER SAYS KTM’S PROMISED STEP FORWARD NEVER CAME

Brad Binder’s MotoGP career will end after this season, closing a chapter that began with KTM in 2015. The manufacturer has decided not to renew his contract with either its factory squad or Tech3, and will introduce a new line-up. Binder is set to move to the World Superbike Championship in 2027 with BMW, where he will reunite with former KTM teammate Miguel Oliveira.

The South African says he is sad to leave KTM, the team with which he won the 2016 Moto3 title, but believes a change is needed after two seasons in which his progress stalled. Speaking to Motor Sport Magazine, Binder reflected on a career that brought memorable highs as well as unfulfilled hopes.

“Leaving this championship behind, I think I can say I’ve had some frickin’ cool days. Some awesome days,” he said. “I think it’s pointless to think about things that never happened.”

Binder explained that he had repeatedly expected the next season to bring a breakthrough. “We won in Moto3, got really close in Moto2 and in MotoGP I always felt like ‘next year things will come right…’ and they never did,” he said. “The last two seasons things have been too stagnant.”

He added that he had not felt a meaningful improvement in the KTM RC16 for some time. “There was never really a step in the right direction. I felt like I’ve been riding the same motorbike since 2023. So, something wasn’t clicking for me or the team. It’s sad we’re parting ways on one hand, but then on the other, it’s time for something new.”

Binder’s premier-class career started spectacularly: he won the 2020 Czech Grand Prix in only his third race, then claimed victory at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, giving KTM a home-soil triumph. His best championship finish came in 2023, when five podiums helped him place fourth. Since then, his results have declined: he finished fifth in 2024 with one podium, 11th in 2025 without one, and is 13th in the 2026 standings. His sixth place at this year’s Austrian Grand Prix is his best result of the season; he has bettered it only twice across his previous 37 races.

The report points to Michelin’s high-grip rear tyre, introduced in 2023, as a major challenge for Binder. Its effect on the front end under braking has not suited the riding style that once made him distinctive: he had relied on sliding the rear while braking, but has struggled to adapt to the tyre. After seven MotoGP seasons, Binder’s move to BMW offers a fresh start following years in which the improvement he kept anticipating never arrived.