Marco Bezzecchi
Brad Binder is one of the MotoGP riders under most pressure heading into a contract year in 2026. KTM made it clear that they weren’t satisfied with his 2025 performance levels.
Binder ranked second among the four KTM riders in the championship – but there were caveats. Pedro Acosta very nearly doubled his points haul (307 vs 155), Maverick Vinales missed 14 races through injury and Enea Bastianini had to adapt after joining from Ducati.
Given that Binder has spent his entire Grand Prix career racing for the manufacturer, more was expected. Indeed, KTM nearly promoted Vinales from the factory team before injury wrecked his season.
What would you change on our dream 2027 grid?
Binder’s talks with KTM have been described as ‘uncomfortable’, with the long-term relationship at risk of coming to an end.
Most MotoGP fans still expect Brad Binder to stay at KTM
MotoGP News asked fans in a TalkingPoints poll whether Binder would still be a KTM rider in 2027. At time of writing, there have been well over 700 votes.
58.2% of respondents believe that Binder will still sign a new contract to keep him with the Austrian manufacturer. The other 41.8% expect him to depart.
KTM boss Pit Beirer on Brad Binder’s crew chief change
KTM have played down links to Alex Marquez, while Pedro Acosta’s potential departure could mean there are two vacancies at Pit Beirer’s squad rather than one.
There’s a possibility that Binder will lose his factory status but race for Tech3 – that was the plan at one stage this year. But it’s unclear if Guenther Steiner would object to such an arrangement.
Brad Binder’s brief for 2026: have more arguments
Binder sounded optimistic after the Valencia test, reporting that the 2026 prototype had given him more feedback than its predecessor.
It was the South African’s first opportunity to work with Phil Marron, who has left Toprak Razgatlioglu’s side to become his new crew chief.
Binder worked with Andres Madrid for around a decade but KTM felt their relationship was no longer productive.
In 2026, Beirer wants to see Binder having more arguments with his crew, as long as they’re constructive. He may have become too comfortable last year, which led him to repeat the same mistakes.
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