Marco Bezzecchi
Brad Binder has suffered his most difficult MotoGP season ever with KTM during the course of 2025.
Simply put, he has lacked the pace required to compete with the top guys currently and has been completely outshone by teammate Pedro Acosta.
He has a year and a half left on his current KTM deal, but at the age of 29, finding another opportunity after this may not be easy. Just ask Jack Miller.
Overall, Binder’s record is excellent. In six seasons, he has finished below sixth in the MotoGP standings just once, in his rookie year.
According to Mat Oxley, Binder is no longer KTM’s ‘golden boy’ and suggests that the Michelin rear tyre is part of the reason for his downfall.
Even Acosta is wary of one ‘dangerous’ KTM situation and doesn’t want to be left without a solid seat on the grid in the future, if the Austrian manufacturer opts against continued investment in motorsport.
Brad Binder tells MotoGP to bring ‘incredible’ Kyalami track back for the 2027 season
Binder faced a ‘huge’ KTM problem in the final race before the summer break, and was really uncomfortable under braking.
After realising that a change was needed, Binder has adopted a different approach, but little has changed for him. He finished behind a returning Jorge Martin at the last race in Brno, and he hadn’t seen the chequered flag in a Grand Prix for 245 days.
Ever since he took his career seriously some time ago, the South African rider has spent a lot of time in Europe. It has been over 20 years since the last MotoGP race was held in his home country.
However, after recent improvements to the Kyalami circuit, a return could be on the cards, with Binder backing the circuit to be picked up by MotoGP.
“They’ve done an incredible job – they’ve redone the track, changed the layout slightly, added new asphalt, and installed brand-new pits,” he told SPEEDWEEK.
“The place is fantastic, they’ve done a great job, and I really think we need to bring MotoGP back there.”
READ MORE: Neil Hodgson reveals the ‘strange’ KTM message that Brad Binder told him at MotoGP Czech Grand Prix
Who has won the most South African Grands Prix in MotoGP history?
Just 10 premier class events have been held in South Africa before, with them all taking place between 1983 and 2004.
Kyalami was on the calendar between 1983 and 1985, and once more again in 1992, while Phakisa Freeway hosted races between 1999 and 2004.
It shouldn’t serve as too much of a surprise that Valentino Rossi has won the most races in South Africa, doing so three times.
If Kyalami were to return for 2027, it would be doing so after an incredible 35-year absence, or 42 years since it held consecutive events.
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