{"id":49837,"date":"2026-02-13T11:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=49837"},"modified":"2026-02-13T11:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:22:19","slug":"brad-binder-looks-forward-to-2026-motogp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/13\/brad-binder-looks-forward-to-2026-motogp\/","title":{"rendered":"Binder goes into 2026 guns blazing as &#8216;riding at the back is no fun&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>First five to eight races will be crucial for his MotoGP future, says Red Bull KTM star.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Brad Binder is chomping at the bit to make amends for his mediocre 2025 MotoGP season.<\/p>\n<p>The Red Bull KTM rider\u2019s 11th place in the championship was his joint lowest finish since moving up to the premier class. After also finishing in 11th in his rookie season in 2020, he came sixth, sixth, fourth and sixth in the following four seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Last season was the first time the 30-year-old 2016 Moto3 champion failed to stand on the MotoGP podium, with a fourth place in Indonesia his best result.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-brad-binder-reflects-on-2025\">Brad Binder reflects on 2025<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cMy 2025 season was the most challenging one I\u2019ve ever had on a motorcycle to say the least. I\u2019m really looking to turn that around in 2026,\u201d Binder told South African media on a video call arranged by Red Bull this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you dedicate your entire life to fight for a championship which is my goal and all of a sudden you\u2019re running around in 10th place, it\u2019s not fun. You want to try and make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again, but it\u2019s not always that easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A big part of Binder\u2019s struggles last year was due to his machinery. After finishing the 2024 season as the fastest bike behind the Ducati brigade, the KTM RC16 has the whole orange garage searching for answers. His team-mate Pedro Acosta, who did manage to find an extra gear, was very vocal about the bike\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ: Brad Binder won\u2019t allow his brain to get in his way in 2026 again<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-taking-a-step-back\">Taking a step back<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest adjustment we had to make was to trust the front end. It felt like every time I tried to put in the effort I had moments with the front and ended up just going slower,\u201d added Binder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI ended up overdoing every single aspect. Sometimes you need to take a step back, analyse things and focus on what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This year is the last year on Binder\u2019s four-year contract with the KTM factory team. He knows putting good performances will go a long way towards securing his premier class future.<\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ: Brad Binder: Sleeping at home and racing at Kyalami will be \u2018sick\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will need to be at my absolute best and I think the first five to eight races are really important,\u201d says Binder. \u201cI really love to continue my career in MotoGP but also wants to be competitive again. I\u2019m not having much fun where I was last season and my goal is to find my way back to the front.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-darryn-off-to-the-states\">Darryn off to the States<\/h3>\n<p>Binder says it will take time getting to used not having his brother Darryn Binder around the circuit this year. After 11 years in Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP, Darryn has set sail for the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is my next-door neighbour in Andorra and before that we have lived together in Europe for a long time,\u201d Binder said of his younger brother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s heading off to the States for the next couple of weeks to start his new adventure there and that will leave just me, my wife and baby in Andorra. It will be a change for sure, but I\u2019m happy for my brother and I know he is going to have a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 22-race 2026 season starts at the end of the month in Thailand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Binder #guns #blazing #riding #fun<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First five to eight races will be crucial for his MotoGP future, says Red Bull KTM star. Brad Binder is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49837"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49839,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49837\/revisions\/49839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}