Binder eyes stronger finish after grinding weekend at Sepang

Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder says he needs extra speed after yet another weekend that saw him having to graft hard from the back of the grid, as he remains without a Q2 qualification in the 2025 season with just two races to go.

It has become a familiar theme for the South African rider—starting deep in the field and fighting his way forward with determination and grit. From 18th on the grid, Binder once again battled through both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s main race, piecing together progress the hard way as he continues to search for that extra edge.

The Mattighofen-based team arrived at the Sepang International Circuit carrying a concerning trend of struggling to finish races strongly due to tire wear. But with teammate Pedro Acosta enjoying a contrastingly dominant season, Binder was hoping for a stronger showing over the Malaysian weekend.

“It was a bit of a challenge starting in 18th place, and it was a decent enough comeback, but I would have preferred better,” Binder said after the race.

The 30-year-old finished ninth in Sunday’s race, making up for Saturday’s tough sprint outing where he placed 16th. With more than just performance to manage, Binder was pleased that the main race turned out better than the sprint, but he still believes he needs more pace as the season nears its conclusion.

“I knew it was a race where we really had to manage the tires, and I got the rear to the end OK,” he continued.

“After the drama of the sprint, I had a normal bike again today, and everything felt good. I was a bit nervy but didn’t end up in the same situation as Saturday, which was good. In general, we just need to find a bit of extra speed to qualify better and then race better.”

Racing Team Manager Aki Ajo was overall pleased with his team’s performance despite the technical issues they carried into the weekend.

“Today was a great day for us in Sepang, even if the weekend began as a challenge,” Ajo said after the race.

“Managing the tires was the key, and the way our riders and all of our technicians handled the situation means Pedro’s second position really feels like a win. Enea (Bastianini) also had a great race, and Brad improved a lot compared to Saturday.”

Binder (133) remains 12th in the championship standings on 133 points, 127 points adrift of his fifth-placed teammate Acosta (260), heading into the penultimate round of the season at the Portugal GP in a fortnight.