Brad Binder wants to 'let natural ability take over' in 2026 MotoGP season

15:01, 28 Jan

Updated: 15:10, 28 Jan

byAndrew McLarney

South African MotoGP rider Brad Binder was keen to stay optimistic ahead of the 2026 season following 'the toughest year' in his premier class career so far.

As part of KTM's launch event today, which showcased the new bikes for both Tech3 and the KTM Factory Racing teams, the riders sat down and asked each other various questions regarding last year and their hopes for the season ahead.

Binder largely struggled to recapture the form of his early KTM years which saw him pick up race wins and podiums across consecutive seasons since 2020.

I was thinking the whole time on the motorbike rather than letting my natural ability take over.

- Brad Binder

2025 was the first year in which he had failed to reach the podium in either a sprint or a main race, with a season best fourth-place finish in Indonesia being his best result.

This left him in a disappointing 11th place overall in the standings, some way below his younger teammate Acosta who finished in fourth place.

When asked about how his approach will change for the 2026 season, Binder responded:
"The hard moments for me last year were just [when] I got too involved maybe, really tried to figure out why I'm missing speed and I felt like I was thinking the whole time on the motorbike rather than letting my natural ability take over. That's one thing that I want to change for this season, just really enjoy riding the bike a bit more and yeah, I'm quite confident that after this off-season, I can make a good step up."

Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

He then continued, "To be completely honest my 2025 was rough. It was probably one of the toughest - not probably, it was - the toughest year I've ever had on a motorcycle. Just really struggled to find speed and comfort but it's funny, at the beginning it was really rough, halfway through rough, but at the end, the results weren't there but things started to slowly get a little bit better. I'm looking forward to a fresh start again this season and hopefully I can get back to the performances I know I'm capable of."