Brad Binder
Brad Binder is a South African Grand Prix motorcycle racer competing for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. He is the 2016 Moto3 World Champion.
Previously, he had competed in the Moto2 class during 2019, with the Ajo KTM team, finishing the championship in second place. Prior to moving up into Grand Prix level, Binder contested three seasons of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, with a best finish of fifth overall in the championship standings.
At the 2016 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix in Jerez, Binder became the first South African to win a motorcycle Grand Prix since Jon Ekerold won the 350 cc class at the 1981 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix. From 2017, Binder raced in the Moto2 class having agreed to a deal with Ajo Motorsport.
Binder's younger brother Darryn is also a motorcycle racer, and competed alongside Binder in Moto3 in both 2015 and 2016.
Binder became the first, and so far, the only South African to win a MotoGP championship race at the 2020 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix, also becoming the first rider to win with KTM in the premier class, as well as being the first rookie to win in MotoGP since Marc Márquez at the 2013 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas.
Career
Early career
He began his motorsports career in go-karting in 2003. In 2005, he switched to two wheels, immediately winning several titles in the 50cc, 125cc and 150cc categories. In 2008, he made his international debut, competing in the Aprilia Superteens Series, a British competition. In his first race he finished in second place, but in the second race he crashed. In 2009, he raced in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup finishing 14th, in 2010 he finished 5th, and in 2011, he finished 7th.125cc/Moto3 World Championship
RW Racing GP (2011–2012)
Binder started his Grand Prix career in the 125cc class riding an Aprilia for RW Racing GP in the 2011 season with his bike number as 14. Binder finished the season pointless, with his best position being a 17th place in Indianapolis.In 2012, he switched to the Kalex KTM with his bike number changed to 41. Binder's first Moto3 point came at the 2012 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix. 2012 was a crash-filled season for Binder, with seven crashes. Binder scored four times in the season, with his best result of fourth place coming in Valencia. He finished the season at 21st place with 24 points.
Abrogio Racing (2013–2014)
In 2013, Binder switched from Kalex KTM to Suter Honda and later to Mahindra with the team Ambrogio Racing. 2013 was a consistent year for Binder; he scored in 14 out of the 18 races, his best result being a fourth place at Spain; he finished the final standings at 13th place with 66 points. In 2014, he improved with 2 podiums to 11th place.Red Bull KTM Ajo (2015–2016)
In 2015, Binder again switched teams to the KTM factory-supported Ajo Motorsport. His first season on the new machine was largely positive with regular points finishes and 4 podiums leading to an overall 6th place finish.In the 2016 season, he built on this success with 7 wins and 14 podiums en route to his first world championship, with a 142 point margin over 2nd place.
Moto2 World Championship
Red Bull KTM Ajo (2017–2019)
2017
In 2017, Binder moved up to the Moto2 class, continuing with Red Bull KTM Ajo. In his first season he achieved 3 podiums on the way to 8th place in the riders' standings; despite having an injury and being forced to miss a few rounds.2018
In 2018, Binder improved with 3 wins and consistent points finishes to achieve 3rd place in the championship.2019
In 2019, after a difficult start to the season for KTM with the new Triumph engine, Binder took 5 wins and 9 podiums to finish in 2nd place as the best KTM rider, just 3 points off champion Álex Márquez.MotoGP World Championship
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2020–present)
2020
Binder made his MotoGP debut with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team in the 2020 season. Binder won his first MotoGP race at the third round of the season in Brno. This was also the first race win for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team in the premier class.2021
Binder, along with KTM, had a rough start to the 2021 season. Despite this, he maintained top ten positions and got into the top 5 four times, with two 5th places at Portimao and Mugello and two 4th place finishes at Sachsenring and Assen.Binder scored a surprise home track victory for KTM at the Austrian MotoGP Grand Prix when, with 5 laps remaining and rain beginning to fall, he decided to take the chance of finishing the race on slicks while most other leading riders chose to pit and swap to motorcycles fitted with wet tires. The gamble paid off and despite extremely slick conditions and mostly ineffective brakes due to the wet and cold track surface, he was able to withstand a late charge by Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia and win the race.
2022
Binder stayed with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team for a third consecutive season for the 2022 World Championship. He started off the year with an overachieving 2nd place finish at the Qatar Grand Prix. From then on, Brad has been a consistent top 10 finisher, with a tendency to perform better in race trim than in qualifying trim, as has been the case with his teammate Miguel Oliveira. He attained his first ever top 3 qualifying result in MotoGP at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, which he followed up with his second podium finish of the season, in 2nd position. The final round of the season also saw Binder finish on the podium, with second position and the fastest lap of the race.2023
Binder signed a contract with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in June 2021, to remain with the team for the 2023 World Championship and 2024. He showed his class by winning the sprint race in Argentina at the 2nd race of the season coming from 15th on the grid, and ended the season with 5 podium finishes in Spain, Great Britain, Austria, Thailand, and Valencia, ending the season in 4th, the highest placing for a non-Ducati rider.On the weekend of the 2023 Austrian round, Binder extended his contract, which keeps him there until the end of 2026.
Career statistics
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
Races by year
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos | Pts |
| 2009 | SPA1 13 | SPA2 10 | ITA Ret | NED 16 | GER Ret | GBR 15 | CZE1 11 | CZE2 14 | 14th | 17 | ||||||
| 2010 | SPA1 4 | SPA2 Ret | ITA 3 | NED1 7 | NED2 7 | GER1 2 | GER2 2 | CZE1 7 | CZE2 4 | RSM Ret | 5th | 109 | ||||
| 2011 | SPA1 2 | SPA2 Ret | POR1 1 | POR2 17 | GBR1 15 | GBR2 Ret | NED1 10 | NED2 20 | ITA 10 | GER1 2 | GER2 9 | CZE1 12 | CZE2 10 | RSM Ret | 7th | 95 |
CEV Buckler Moto3 Championship
Races by year
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos | Pts |
| 2012 | Suter Honda | JER | NAV | ARA | CAT | ALB1 | ALB2 | VAL 1 | 17th | 25 |
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
By class
Races by year
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Pos | Pts |
| 125cc | Aprilia | QAT | SPA | POR | FRA | CAT | GBR | NED | ITA | GER | CZE | INP 17 | RSM | ARA | JPN 20 | AUS 21 | MAL Ret | VAL Ret | NC | 0 | ||||||
| Moto3 | Kalex KTM | QAT Ret | SPA Ret | POR 11 | FRA Ret | CAT Ret | GBR 17 | NED 20 | GER Ret | ITA 24 | INP Ret | CZE 20 | RSM 16 | ARA 16 | JPN Ret | MAL 12 | AUS 14 | VAL 4 | 21st | 24 | ||||||
| Moto3 | Suter Honda | QAT 12 | AME 9 | SPA 4 | FRA 8 | ITA 14 | CAT 12 | NED 15 | GER 9 | INP Ret | CZE Ret | GBR Ret | 13th | 66 | ||||||||||||
| Moto3 | Mahindra | RSM 18 | ARA 12 | MAL 11 | AUS 15 | JPN 10 | VAL 12 | - | 13th | 66 | ||||||||||||||||
| Moto3 | Mahindra | QAT 15 | AME Ret | ARG 14 | SPA Ret | FRA 14 | ITA 9 | CAT 6 | NED 9 | GER 2 | INP 9 | CZE 6 | GBR 15 | RSM 6 | ARA 8 | JPN 3 | AUS 15 | MAL Ret | VAL 9 | 11th | 109 | |||||
| Moto3 | KTM | QAT 10 | AME 5 | ARG 5 | SPA 3 | FRA Ret | ITA 10 | CAT 9 | NED 7 | GER 7 | INP 8 | CZE 3 | GBR Ret | RSM 5 | ARA Ret | JPN 17 | AUS 3 | MAL 2 | VAL 4 | 6th | 159 | |||||
| Moto3 | KTM | QAT 2 | ARG 3 | AME 3 | SPA 1 | FRA 1 | ITA 1 | CAT 2 | NED 12 | GER 8 | AUT 2 | CZE Ret | GBR 1 | RSM 1 | ARA 2 | JPN 2 | AUS 1 | MAL 17 | VAL 1 | 1st | 319 | |||||
| Moto2 | KTM | QAT 20 | ARG 9 | AME | SPA | FRA | ITA 10 | CAT 17 | NED 13 | GER 7 | CZE 12 | AUT 7 | GBR 9 | RSM 4 | ARA 5 | JPN Ret | AUS 2 | MAL 2 | VAL 3 | 8th | 125 | |||||
| Moto2 | KTM | QAT 6 | ARG Ret | AME 6 | SPA 6 | FRA 9 | ITA 6 | CAT 6 | NED 7 | GER 1 | CZE 6 | AUT 6 | GBR C | RSM 8 | ARA 1 | THA 4 | JPN 5 | AUS 1 | MAL 8 | VAL Ret | 3rd | 201 | ||||
| Moto2 | KTM | QAT 12 | ARG 6 | AME Ret | SPA 5 | FRA 4 | ITA 15 | CAT 11 | NED 2 | GER 2 | CZE Ret | AUT 1 | GBR 3 | RSM 6 | ARA 1 | THA 2 | JPN 12 | AUS 1 | MAL 1 | VAL 1 | 2nd | 259 | ||||
| MotoGP | KTM | SPA 13 | ANC Ret | CZE 1 | AUT 4 | STY 8 | RSM 12 | EMI Ret | CAT 11 | FRA 12 | ARA 11 | TER Ret | EUR 7 | VAL 5 | POR Ret | 11th | 87 | |||||||||
| MotoGP | KTM | QAT 14 | DOH 8 | POR 5 | SPA Ret | FRA 13 | ITA 5 | CAT 8 | GER 4 | NED 12 | STY 4 | AUT 1 | GBR 6 | ARA 7 | RSM 9 | AME 9 | EMI 11 | ALR 10 | VAL 7 | 6th | 151 | |||||
| MotoGP | KTM | QAT 2 | INA 8 | ARG 6 | AME 12 | POR Ret | SPA 10 | FRA 8 | ITA 7 | CAT 8 | GER 7 | NED 5 | GBR 11 | AUT 7 | RSM 8 | ARA 4 | JPN 2 | THA 10 | AUS 10 | MAL 8 | VAL 2 | 6th | 188 | |||
| MotoGP | KTM | POR 6 | ARG 171 | AME 135 | SPA 21 | FRA 62 | ITA 5 | GER Ret6 | NED 45 | GBR 39 | AUT 22 | CAT Ret4 | RSM 145 | IND 44 | JPN Ret2 | INA 6 | AUS 4 | THA 32 | MAL Ret5 | QAT 57 | VAL 32 | 4th | 293 | |||
| MotoGP | KTM | QAT 22 | POR 4 | AME 9 | SPA 6 | FRA 8 | CAT 8 | ITA 106 | NED 66 | GER 98 | GBR Ret4 | AUT 57 | ARA 46 | RSM 47 | EMI 196 | INA 8 | JPN 6 | AUS 7 | THA 69 | MAL DNS7 | SLD 69 | 5th | 217 | |||
| MotoGP | KTM | THA 88 | ARG 7 | AME Ret | QAT 13 | SPA 6 | FRA Ret | GBR 14 | ARA Ret9 | ITA 9 | NED 11 | GER 76 | CZE 8 | AUT 75 | HUN 7 | CAT Ret6 | RSM 10 | JPN 12 | INA 4 | AUS 8 | MAL 9 | POR 59 | VAL 88 | 11th | 155 |