The return of the Czech Grand Prix in 2020 was a bittersweet moment for one rider, Marc Marquez, who had suffered a career-altering arm injury in the weeks prior. The race, held at the Brno track, was a stark reminder of what could have been for Marquez, who had been a dominant force in the sport before his injury. The race also marked a turning point for KTM and Brad Binder, who impressed in his maiden race, recovering from an early off-track incident to show pace that would have threatened the leading riders.
Binder's victory at Brno was a highlight of the 2020 season, which was shortened to 14 rounds due to the COVID pandemic. The South African rider, who had previously stunned in Moto3 in 2016, became the darling of the KTM junior rider system. His step to MotoGP with the factory KTM squad in 2020 was heavily anticipated to be the start of something special, and Binder delivered.
However, the rest of the 2020 season didn't quite live up to the lofty highs of the Czech Grand Prix. But, at that point, it really did seem like only a matter of time before Binder was a true frontrunner. His results grew more consistent in 2021, albeit generally from average qualifying results. The highlight came in Austria, when he sensationally stayed on dry tyres on a wet track to win.
Despite the hype around Binder, he hasn't excelled in head-to-head battles with other riders, particularly Pedro Acosta, who has been a generational talent. Acosta's battle with Marc Marquez at Hungary was a preview of what will be possible when he has better machinery underneath him. Going head-to-head with Acosta is an immensely difficult task, but it’s one that Binder hasn’t particularly looked capable of getting close to doing consistently.
The arrival of Acosta to the grid in 2024 ushered in KTM’s newest superstar, and he has so far been able to continue justifying the hype around him. Binder, on the other hand, has been mired in average results well beneath a rider of his calibre. In 2025, his best result was fourth at an odd Indonesian Grand Prix. So far in 2026, his best has been a seventh on two occasions. Acosta, by contrast, has had three podiums and a sprint win on a KTM bike still riddled with problems.
The situation has raised question marks over just how justified the hype was around Binder. When examining both of his MotoGP victories, both came in unusual circumstances. But we’ve yet to see him win a grand prix with everything being even. KTM hasn’t sat idily by amid Binder’s dip in form. It ended his long-standing crew chief relationship with Andres Madrid at the end of last year, believing it had become too friendly, and placed Binder with Toprak Razgatlioglu’s former World Superbike title-winning crew chief Phil Marron.
The removal of wildcard rides for 2027 would mean Binder’s only hopes of racing, if he does take on a test rider role, would be as an injury stand-in. And as we return to Brno and the Czech Grand Prix this weekend, it’s hard to believe this is the situation Binder finds himself in six years on from a win that should have been the beginning of so much more...
In conclusion, the return of the Czech Grand Prix in 2020 was a bittersweet moment for Marc Marquez and a turning point for KTM and Brad Binder. Despite the hype around Binder, he hasn't excelled in head-to-head battles with other riders, particularly Pedro Acosta. The situation has raised question marks over just how justified the hype was around Binder, and it remains to be seen if he will continue to race in MotoGP.
