Pit Beirer admits KTM are ‘not at all satisfied’ with Brad Binder after what they’ve seen in 2025

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Brad Binder will hope returning to the site of his last MotoGP race win at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix marks a fresh start amid the KTM rider’s worst season to date.

The premier class returns from its summer slumbers next weekend at the Red Bull Ring after a one-month hiatus. Binder has fond memories of the Austrian GP, having won a remarkable race there in 2021 when the South African braved it out on slick tyres amid a late downpour.

Rolling the dice in the foothills of the Styrian Alps sealed Binder a surprise win for his second victory in MotoGP. But the KTM rider is still yet to add to his tally of race wins, 78 Grands Prix later. Binder will also return to the Austrian GP amid the worst MotoGP season of his career.

Never before had Binder scored fewer points through the first 12 rounds of any season than the 68 he has so far this year. Only in his rookie season in 2020, before the addition of Sprint Races in 2023, when Binder ranked P12 on 76 points had he also sat as low in the standings.

Pit Beirer admits that KTM are ‘not at all satisfied’ with Brad Binder’s results in 2025

Binder admits 2025 has been ‘challenging’, ‘frustrating’ and ‘hard’ after seeing Pedro Acosta step up to the factory KTM team and get 124 points. Acosta is the highest-scoring KTM rider so far this season, with Tech3 duo Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini boasting 69 and 49.

Acosta secured KTM’s first podium of 2025 in the Hungarian GP, where Bastianini also joined the 21-year-old on the Sprint Race podium in P2 and P3. Binder’s P6 finish in the Spanish GP at Jerez back in April still remains the Potchefstroom native’s best result of the 2025 season.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Brad Binder from career stats to wife

Motorsport director Pit Beirer admits that KTM are ‘not at all satisfied’ with Binder’s results, as he struggles to adapt to their 2025 bike. His aggressive braking style complemented the RC16 in previous years, but that has not always been a happy relationship so far this season.

“You can’t compete in this class without confidence,” Beirer said, via Motorsport.com. “So, we clearly know we have to help Brad. Yes, we’re not at all satisfied with the performances we’ve achieved with him.

“He’s having a hard time making this package work, and now it’s our job to restore their confidence. The category is very dynamic and, like every year, the bikes are getting faster and faster.

“You also have to adapt your riding style. Then, you make decisions about the bike that perhaps aren’t right for a particular rider at all, and that’s exactly what’s happening with Brad. He just can’t find the feeling he needs to express his potential.”

Brad Binder has inherently lacked the speed of his KTM teammate Pedro Acosta in 2025

Binder has inherently lacked the speed of his KTM teammate Acosta so far this season, with the South African’s qualifying performances particularly holding him back from matching or beating the Spaniard’s exploits. Binder is even the only KTM rider yet to get a top-five finish.

Only Tech3 pilot Bastianini, who joined the team this season, has a worse average qualifying position among the four KTM riders than Binder. Only Bastianini has also registered a lower personal-best qualifying result than Binder during the first 12 rounds of the 2025 campaign.

Binder starting from further down the order has been a key reason why he has struggled to match Acosta’s exploits. The South African is starting races with one arm behind his back as he regularly has to fight through the order simply to get close to where Acosta started from.