Brad Binder told why he was unlucky to receive a penalty at the Australian Grand Prix

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Brad Binder staged another fine recovery at the Australian Grand Prix as he gained eight places on race day.

The South African rider, who has struggled in qualifying, failed to progress to Q2 at Phillip Island, and was handed a penalty for impeding LCR’s Johann Zarco. It meant that he started the Australian Grand Prix from 16th on the grid, way back on the sixth row.

On a weekend where KTM had a real chance to score a big result in the absence of Marc Marquez, it would have been frustrating. Binder is always impressive in race trim, and could have had himself a podium or two in 2025 if he had been better on a Saturday.

Binder praised teammate Pedro Acosta and knows that he must find a way to emulate his ability to perform in all types of situations. Binder nearly lost his KTM factory seat before Maverick Vinales got injured, which would have seen him demoted to Tech3 for 2026.

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Brad Binder was unlucky to receive Australian Grand Prix penalty after ‘trying so hard’ to avoid rival

Binder hoped KTM had arrived at a changing point in their campaign, after he secured his best result of the campaign in Indonesia a few weeks ago. He marched right up the grid to fourth on race day, benefitting from a bit of attrition along the way.

The 30-year-old has just three races left to endure this season before he can focus on making a comeback in 2026. Teammate Acosta has been comfortably quicker in 2025, and that’s something that will need to change if he wants to keep his ride.

At Phillip Island, he might have been unlucky to be penalised for getting in Johann Zarco’s way in qualifying. According to Peter Bom, he didn’t really have anywhere to go, and the three-place grid penalty he received was a little unfortunate.

“I’ve never seen a rider trying so hard to avoid being in somebody’s way, starting already out of Severia, but finally at the Haitians, I think, or at least a wide of the curve for Zarco, right? He had nowhere to go and he got a penalty.

“Obviously, deserved. The race direction can’t do anything else, but they must have felt sorry for giving that guy that looks more over his shoulder. That’s the track, that was the situation he was in. S— for him.”

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Why the 2025 MotoGP season has been a bit of a disaster for Brad Binder

Now sitting 12th in the standings after Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez won in Australia, Binder is officially on course to achieve his worst finish in MotoGP.

Now 12th in the standings, he’s one place lower than he finished during his rookie season, which included a victory in his third race.

Experience hasn’t been able to guide him in a better direction, and it’s hard to see what comes next for him after 2026.

Unless he pulls a remarkable performance out of the bag, teammate Acosta should be the team’s leader, which will be tough to take for a rider entering his seventh season with the same outfit.