Brad Binder makes brutally honest admission about his MotoGP career as he relives Czech Grand Prix win

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Brad Binder took his first MotoGP victory in just his third premier-class start at the 2020 Czech Grand Prix. But he’s only won one of his 100 races since.

Binder passed KTM teammate Pol Espargaro for fourth place at the start, then overtook his brother Aleix soon after. The South African would progressively hunt down and dispatch Fabio Quartararo and erstwhile leader Franco Morbidelli, showing impressive composure thereafter.

When he eventually crossed the line, he was more than five seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. It was the first rookie win since Marc Marquez in 2013.

Binder won again in Austria the following season, but that remains his most recent triumph. Somewhat agonisingly, he’s finished second six times during that drought.

Brad Binder thought his MotoGP career would look ‘a lot different’ after first win

TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson walked the Czech Grand Prix track with Binder as part of a feature reliving his first win. After a commendable fifth place in last year’s championship, he’s had a difficult 2025.

Binder arrives at Brno in 12th place, below Tech3 newcomer Maverick Vinales and in the shadow of sophomore teammate Pedro Acosta. Only two riders have had more DNFs this season (Jack Miller and Joan Mir).

He’s scored just three points in a crash-laden run between Le Mans and Aragon, but feels he’s carried out an important mental reset. He’ll hope his P6/P7 results at the Sachsenring mark a turning point.

But reflecting on his career more generally, the 2016 Moto3 champion admits he was expecting a lot more.

“Honestly, at that stage I thought my career was going to look a hell of a lot different five years later!” he said of his first win. “Honestly, last weekend, I said, ‘okay, it is what it is’, and I stopped banging my head against the wall.

“I felt like I had dropped two or three races ago. Slowly, I feel like we are catching up.

“I feel like I might have had some championships by now if we got some points for trying, but unfortunately we don’t! We’re at the turning point and I feel like things have to look up for me.”

Why Neil Hodgson feels sorry for KTM rider Brad Binder

Crew chief Andres Madrid is amazed by Binder’s mentality. He’s ‘never’ seen a rider who’s able to ‘reset and deliver’ quite like the 29-year-old.

Binder has spent almost all of his Grand Prix career on KTM bikes, including his title-winning Moto3 campaign and 2019 Moto2 near-miss. His best championship position in MotoGP is fourth.

Hodgson feels ‘sorry’ for Binder because it seems as if the RC16 ‘feels different’ every time he rides. That may explain his spate of accidents.

The Potchefstroom native has not ‘looked himself’ this year, but he at least found some fresh optimism heading into this weekend’s race.