Brad Binder describes his 2025 season with KTM in three damning words amid his worst MotoGP campaign to date

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Brad Binder has found himself in the midst of a difficult season in MotoGP with KTM, with the South African languishing in 12th place of the riders’ standings after 12 rounds.

Pedro Acosta, his KTM Factory Racing teammate, has almost double the amount of points Binder has this season and is the only rider atop a bike from the Austrian constructor to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix in 2025.

Without the Ducati bikes on the grid, the championship order would change dramatically. Binder would surge up to sixth in the standings, with the drastic shift being a testament to the Italian constructor’s dominance this year.

Unfortunately, Binder is closer to the top of the crash leaderboards. The South African has suffered 13 offs this season, just two shy of being a joint leader alongside Johann Zarco and Joan Mir.

Brad Binder has had a ‘frustrating’ 2025 MotoGP campaign with KTM

Speaking to TNT Sports, Binder was asked to describe his season so far in MotoGP, with the South African answering, “Challenging. Frustrating. Hard.”

Binder dealt with an ‘absolutely impossible’ issue at the Italian GP, which has compounded as the rounds have gone on. The 2016 Moto3 champion is yet to score a podium this season, and if he doesn’t secure a top-three finish by the end of the year, it’ll mark his first podium-less campaign in the premier class.

The Czech Grand Prix also brought Binder some woes, with the issue there lying within the bike’s brakes. It seemed to only affect his own bike, with Pedro Acosta going on to take double podiums in the Sprint race and Grand Prix at the Brno track.

Binder has reportedly lost confidence in the RC16 due to the multitude of issues he has faced throughout the season. His current contract with the team will see him through to the end of the 2026 season, if they don’t opt to replace him at the conclusion of 2025.

Francesco Bagnaia has been faced with ‘lessons’ to learn with Ducati in 2025

Another rider who has been dealing with a difficult campaign this year is Francesco Bagnaia, who was also asked the same question by TNT Sports. The Ducati rider took a moment before answering, “Difficult. Lessons. Determination.”

Bagnaia’s downward trajectory this season has left many people puzzled about what has caused the sudden loss in performance. The 28-year-old was arguably the better rider than Jorge Martin last season, conceding the championship at the last race of the 2024 season by just 10 points.

Marc Marquez emerged as a dominant force this year as Bagnaia’s teammate at Ducati Lenovo, which may have led to a loss of confidence from the Italian rider who has won just the one race so far this season.

Ducati’s decision to homologate the GP25 can also be attributed to the lack of results. Despite Bagnaia not being confident on the bike, Ducati chose to run with it due to Marquez‘s impressive times in testing that has continued into the season.