Brad Binder (KTM) in shock: he felt as though he were on a Sunday run

Once again, it was a poor qualifying session that ruined the weekend for KTM rider Brad Binder. Starting from 15th on the grid, he could only manage 12th place in the MotoGP Sprint at the Sachsenring. In Sunday’s Grand Prix, Binder was allowed to start from 14th on the grid after rookie Diogo Moreira (Honda) was demoted by three places – the Brazilian had been dawdling on the ideal line during Friday’s qualifying session and was penalised for it. Franco Morbidelli (Ducati) received the same penalty.

Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

Grid Girls

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Jorge Martin

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Fans

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Marc Márquez

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Paddock

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Paddock

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Blick auf die Strecke

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Fabio Quartararo

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Alex Márquez

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Martin und Bagnaia

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Fans

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Fernández und Ogura

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Pedro Acosta

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Paddock

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Binder und Moreira

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Ai Ogura, Marc Márquez, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

© Gerhard Schiel

In the 30-lap Grand Prix, the South African was also unable to make his mark. He had an unremarkable race and also benefited from retirements ahead of him. He crossed the finish line in tenth place. “I actually thought I’d been gentle on my rear tyre. That’s why I expected to be able to pick up the pace towards the end, but with two laps to go, things went from bad to worse,” said Binder. “At first I thought I’d run out of fuel, that there was a problem with the engine, or that the tyre had a puncture. Then I realised my rear tyre was simply done for. I’ve never experienced such severe tyre wear on the edge of the tyre before. At the end of the day, I finished tenth – blimey, I can’t believe it. I thought I’d be moving up the field from the halfway point onwards. But then nothing worked anymore. It is what it is. We need to find more speed and performance.”

“My tyre wear is always the worst. I’ve been top of the table in that respect for years, even though I don’t actually want to be.”

Brad Binder

For much of the race, Binder was sandwiched between the Honda riders Luca Marini and Diogo Moreira. However, he was unable to make up any positions on his RC16. A few laps before the end, he was overtaken by his KTM team-mate Enea Bastianini. He then benefited from Jack Miller (Yamaha) dropping back – the Australian was having problems with his M1. “That’s the worst bit about it. I was riding as if on a Sunday spin and still wore out the rear tyre. That wasn’t good,” Binder lamented. “I know from many years’ experience that I put a lot of strain on the rear tyre. My tyre wear is always the highest – or at least almost. I’ve been top of the table in that respect for years, even though I don’t actually want to be.”

At the halfway point of the season, Brad Binder lies 13th in the World Championship standings with 64 points. As things stand, the veteran rider has no place in MotoGP for 2027.