RISSE AND LAVERTY SAY BINDER’S STYLE STRUGGLED TO FIT THE NEW MOTOGP ERA

Brad Binder’s seven-year MotoGP career with KTM will end after the 2026 season, with the South African moving to BMW in WorldSBK in 2027. He will replace Danilo Petrucci and reunite with former KTM teammate Miguel Oliveira. KTM technical director Sebastian Risse says the team is still trying to understand how to help Binder rediscover his form, but believes adapting his riding style has proved a major challenge.

Risse remains convinced Binder can match factory teammate Pedro Acosta in individual corners and sectors. The difficulty, he told Motorsport-Total, is turning those flashes into a complete lap. “We can’t seem to put it all together in a way that translates into a lap time,” he said, adding that poor qualifying positions make it harder for Binder to demonstrate his potential in races. Acosta has beaten Binder in all 31 qualifying sessions they have contested as KTM teammates over the past two seasons.

Risse traces the problem to changes in MotoGP’s tyres, bikes and riding demands. Binder built his success around a distinctive technique: sliding the rear of the bike under braking. That approach helped him win the 2016 Moto3 title, finish runner-up in Moto2 in 2019 and claim his first premier-class victory in just his third MotoGP start, in 2020. But the arrival of Michelin’s high-grip rear tyre in 2023 altered how the bike behaves under braking, and Binder has struggled to adapt.

Risse described the need to change as “a very, very painful process”. A rider, he said, can realise that the style that once brought success will no longer take him forward, yet must find new strengths rather than simply imitate someone else. “That’s something we’re struggling with together,” Risse said. KTM intends to keep working with Binder through the end of the season, though the director acknowledged that the faster approach Binder understands he needs to use is not one in which he feels comfortable or can readily draw on his strengths.

MotoGP pundit Michael Laverty believes the timing of the sport’s technical changes worked against Binder. He said the South African had been “looking sensational” before aerodynamics and ride-height devices became more prominent, and recalled how he could brake while sliding into corners. “The new era didn’t really allow that with these lowering devices,” Laverty said during TNT Sports’ Austrian Grand Prix coverage. With ride-height devices set to be banned and aerodynamics reduced for 2027, alongside Pirelli replacing Michelin, Laverty suggested Binder’s style might suit the coming rules better. “I’d love to see him even on a KTM with Pirellis next year,” he said, adding that he would have liked to see Binder on a Ducati or Aprilia. “MotoGP’s loss is obviously World Superbikes’ gain.”

Binder has not won a MotoGP race since the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix. In that memorable home victory for KTM, he stayed on slick tyres as rain arrived at the Red Bull Ring. He last stood on a Grand Prix podium at the start of 2024. His move to WorldSBK marks the end of his time in the premier class, after he was unable to secure a new KTM contract or another MotoGP seat ahead of the championship’s 850cc era.

Former rider and pundit Neil Hodgson said Binder could contend for the WorldSBK title if he adapts successfully to BMW’s M1000 RR, though the manufacturer has faced difficulties this year. “If he can click with the BMW like Toprak was able to do, then anything’s possible,” Hodgson said, adding that he hoped Binder would enjoy racing again. He noted that repeatedly fighting around 13th place can be draining when a rider is pushing hard but rarely appears on television. “He’s had a few years of that, so I want him to be happy, which he will be.”