Brad Binder (KTM): “Maybe we’d be better off taking a jet ski on Sunday”

Brad Binder has had mixed experiences with 2025 and Phillip Island. In the sprint race, the South African managed just one lap before ‘BB33’ flew off the track. On Grand Prix Sunday, Binder was part of a fabulous result for KTM. All four RC16s finished in the top 10, with Binder crossing the line in P8.

In 2026, MotoGP will head to the legendary island circuit for the last time, with the series set to continue in November 2027 at the Adelaide street circuit. For Binder, who is still a KTM works rider, however (as is the case for Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli), it will be back to the island. The family man is moving to German motorcycling giant BMW as a works rider. And in 2027, Phillip Island will once again host the Superbike World Championship before bidding farewell to the series as well. The second World Motorcycle Championship series will then move to ‘The Bend’, south of Adelaide.

Binder, who lives a good 10,000 km from Melbourne, knows Phillip Island inside out. The 17-time GP winner has been a regular on the GP circuit since 2011. Faced with the weather forecast, the seasoned rider struck a more nuanced tone after a casual opening statement: “I’m really looking forward to getting out on the track – it’s my favourite on the calendar – even though it currently looks as though, after a very good first day, we’d probably be better off using a jet ski by Sunday at the latest.”

Phillip Island bei herrlichem Wetter, das sich schnell ändern kann

Foto: Gold and Goose

Binder continued: “You can never know exactly what’s going to happen here. As far as the rain is concerned, it all depends on how much falls. But the wind is definitely the bigger issue. It’s often the case here that it starts to pick up and blows unpredictably across the track in gusts. That’s the critical factor, particularly on a MotoGP bike. There’s simply too little space and time to correct it; I see that as the big challenge.”

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Added to this are the correspondingly fluctuating track temperatures. Brad Binder: “The amount of rain often varies a great deal, which doesn’t make things easy for the equipment. When it gets really wet, it’s not easy to keep the brakes up to temperature. On top of that, the right-hand side of the tyres cools down, which can be quite tricky. It looks as though we’ve got a very exciting Sunday ahead of us. I’m happy to take on the challenge and believe that things can still go really well for us,” said the 31-year-old ahead of the “Red Bull Grand Prix of Australia”.