Brad Binder admitted he wanted “a hell of a lot more than seventh” after the Thai MotoGP season opener.
The South African saw his record as KTM’s most recent winner end with team-mate Pedro Acosta’s Sprint victory on the Saturday, where he took the chequered flag in sixth.
Binder again finished as the second-best KTM rider in the grand prix, crossing the line 11.8 seconds behind runner-up Acosta, an average of 0.455s per lap.
“Today was alright,” Binder said. “I’m glad to have started the year by getting into Q2 and having two decent finishes.
“I’d like a hell of a lot more than a seventh, but at the end of the day, that’s my pace at the moment. It’s a good starting point, I’d say.
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“We need to keep building, keep pushing forward, and I feel like I have a lot more in the tank. Let’s keep working and try to find that extra pace.”
KTM lap times during the 2026 Thai MotoGP vs Aprilia race winner Marco Bezzecchi.
© Peter McLaren
Binder was eleventh with six laps remaining, but retirements for Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Joan Mir combined with a pass on Francesco Bagnaia moved him up the order.
The 30-year-old said tyre management, previously a KTM weakness, was the main gain over last year’s RC16.
“I could feel we were spinning quite a lot,” said Binder.
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“So I made sure to try to be clever and get the rear tyre to the end, which I was happy about because we managed to make a good step compared to last season.
“Especially the way we looked after the rear tyre, the centre, had a lot less spin, so there’s positive to take out this weekend.
“Mainly, I just need to find a bit more pace.”
Binder – who took a pair of eighth places in last year’s Buriram round – left Thailand sixth in the championship standings, while Acosta heads to round two in Brazil as the early MotoGP title leader.
Tech3 KTM riders Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales finished the season opener in twelfth and 16th places, respectively.
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Buriram was Binder’s first MotoGP event with new crew chief Phil Marron. Former crew chief Andres Madrid is now alongside Bastianini.
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