Brad Binder complains after ‘very tricky’ issue left him ‘finished’ at the Japanese Grand Prix

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Brad Binder just achieved his worst finish for KTM in 10 races after a dull encounter at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The South African rider was the second-highest finishing KTM bike, as Enea Bastianini managed one place higher in 11th. Teammate Pedro Acosta was on for a good haul, but he went off through the gravel with a handful of laps to go, falling to the back of the field.

Unfortunately, qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix wasn’t too kind and left Binder eighth after Q1. He was nearly half a second from making Q2, while Acosta ended up just under two tenths from polesitter Francesco Bagnaia.

Binder delivered an exciting verdict on an upgrade at the start of the weekend after smiling when questioned about a new fork on his bike. However, Binder’s biggest problem at KTM is obvious and was something he at least managed to avoid in Japan.

READ MORE: Aprilia CEO picks the KTM MotoGP rider who ‘clearly stands out’ between Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder

Brad Binder complains ‘very tricky’ chatter issue left him ‘finished’ at the Japanese Grand Prix

Binder shows how much he cares about KTM just a few weeks ago, and came to their defence following a chain issue for his teammate, which cost him a solid result in Misano. At the test which followed, other teams were able to find some serious gains, while KTM appeared to have found nothing.

With five races to go in 2025, it may be time to start looking at next year. Some teams and riders have already discussed using many of the remaining events as preparation for 2026, making them a sort of glorified test session.

At this stage, Binder is already guaranteed his worst finish in the standings since his rookie campaign. He would need to more than double his points tally in five races, and hope his rivals don’t score either, to make his way into the top six.

Speaking after the race, he revealed to the KTM Team that he had battled a ‘very tricky’ chatter issue, which left his rear tyre ‘finished’ by the end of the race.

“A difficult weekend. I had a really good start, but we had a lot of chatter from the beginning, which made it difficult to ride the bike. The wheelspin when we were upright also finished the tyre.

“Very tricky because I cannot take advantage of drive and corner entry is tough. If we can get to a circuit where we can lessen the chatter, then we can do something; hopefully in Indonesia.”

READ MORE: Brad Binder’s ‘unbelievable’ move had KTM watching through the ‘cracks of their fingers’ in Catalan Sprint

How Brad Binder might successfully avoid one MotoGP feat he has achieved for two years in 2025

KTM’s financial predicament over the winter was always going to mean that the start of the 2025 season would be difficult.

Unfortunately, their development hasn’t been able to match their competitors, and they have fallen behind the eight ball. Aprilia have been able to compete for podiums and wins, and have been the only real threat to Ducati.

There was once a time when Binder ‘destroyed’ his rivals ‘psychologically’, but his career in the premier class hasn’t quite panned out as he would have hoped.

He still has a chance of making 2025 his first season since 2022 without a finish outside the top 15, which would be an achievement from a consistency standpoint. It’s a foundation to build from again.