Brad Binder
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Brad Binder (born 11 August 1995) 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,KTM 2020 shake-up: Binder to factory MotoGP team, Lecuona Tech3
crash.net, 24 October 2019, Retrieved 21 November 2019
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 The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a Motorcycle Grand Prix, motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since t ...
, 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, 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 Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
championship race at the
2020 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix The 2020 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 2020 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and the third round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. It was held at the Brno Circuit in Brno on 9 August 2020. Fabio Quartara ...
, 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 Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He previously raced for the Ducati satellite team Gresini in 2024 and Honda's factory team from his MotoGP deb ...
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 Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and Scooter (motorcycle), scooter manufacturer in Noale, Italy, founded by Alberto Beggio. History Early days Aprilia, named after the Pre-war automobile, pre-war Lancia Aprilia, was founded after the Seco ...
for RW Racing GP in the
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
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 Kalex Engineering is a German specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance parts for motorcycles. Kalex Engineering was founded in 2008 in the Bavarian city of Bobingen, Germany by Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex ...
KTM with his bike number changed to 41. Binder's first Moto3 point came at the
2012 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix The 2012 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 May 2012 at the Autódromo do Estoril located in Estoril, Portugal Portugal, officially th ...
. 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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, Binder switched from Kalex KTM to Suter
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, he improved with 2 podiums to 11th place.


Red Bull KTM Ajo (2015–2016)

In
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, 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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, Binder improved with 3 wins and consistent points finishes to achieve 3rd place in the championship.


=2019

= In
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, 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 The Sachsenring () is a motorsport race track, racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyc ...
and
Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...
. 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 Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
rider
Francesco Bagnaia Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia ( ; born 14 January 1997) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer competing in MotoGP World Championship, MotoGP for the Ducati Corse, Ducati Lenovo Team. He is the and List of 500cc/MotoGP World Riders' Champions, ...
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 The Qatar Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Lusail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due ...
. 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.


= 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

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


CEV Buckler Moto3 Championship


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Grand Prix motorcycle racing


By season


By class


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.


References


External links

* * (Old website) * (Current website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Binder, Brad 1995 births Living people South African motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders Moto3 World Championship riders Moto2 World Championship riders Sportspeople from Potchefstroom KTM Factory Racing MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders White South African people Moto3 World Riders' Champions 21st-century South African sportsmen