Brad Binder finishes 8th in Thai MotoGP, laments tyre choice

South Africa's Brad Binder finished eighth on Sunday in the opening race of the 2025 season at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. 

Binder took home eight points for team Red Bull KTM, while Spain's former champion, Marc Marquez, took first place in the Ducati. Binder’s new teammate Pedro Acosta, meanwhile, looked promising – having posted faster times than him during practice in Sepang and Chang prior to the race – but finished the race in a disappointing 19th position. 

The 20-year-old suffered a crash early on in Turn 1, which set him back. His quick pace after the shunt was not enough to get him back into point contention, and he ultimately had to cut his losses. 

After the race, Binder explained that they had to be smart with the tyres on Sunday, while lamenting a difficult opening race weekend. 

“P8 to start the season," Binder said.

"Had to be smart with the tyres (on Sunday) which made for a bit of a long and tricky race. Probably could’ve gone with a different option but we made it to the end and took home some solid points. 

“I knew we had to be easy on the rear tyre and smooth on corner exit. Very tricky because it’s tempting to get excited and chase harder. I also think I made a mistake with my tire choice. Anyway, a pretty good job considering it wasn’t an easy weekend. 

“We know where we need to improve and we’ll keep pushing. Thanks to my team for the great job as always. On to Argentina in a few weeks,” Binder concluded. 

Acosta, 20-years old, said he had trouble stopping, which could point to the reasoning behind his fall early on. 

“A tough day. We need to understand what’s going on because I had trouble stopping. After the crash, my pace wasn’t too bad, the guys told me it might have been good enough for the top five. We had to move on and start again in Argentina. That’s it,” Acosta said.

The next race is at the Termas de Río Hondo in Argentina on the weekend of March 14.