Brad Binder won considerable ground to finish 10th in the sixteenth round of 2025 MotoGP at Misano and bank points for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. The South African started P16 on the grid to roar past the checkered flag in the top ten and bounced back from his DNF in the Saturday Sprint. The KTM GP Academy were protagonists in a sizzling Moto3 grand prix as Jose Antonio Rueda triumphed again with a last corner, last gasp lunge for P1.
The high grip potential of Misano created fresh set-up demands for the Red Bull KTM quartet through Friday and Saturday and led to qualifying positions of P9 for Pedro Acosta, P16 for Brad Binder, P17 for Maverick Viñales and P20 for Enea Bastianini. Acosta secured a top five result in the Saturday Sprint as Bastianini sliced through half of the field to finish 10th at his home Grand Prix.
There was renewed belief for the 27 laps on Sunday and the harder tire options necessary for the full race distance. Overnight rainfall meant the track was initially cooler and with damp patches in the morning but the conditions were warm and consistent by mid-afternoon. Acosta made an effective getaway from the grid but Pedro’s bid for podium contention expired on lap eight with a technical issue while Maverick fell in the second sector on lap five. Enea’s search for a top nine result ended at Turn 14 at mid-distance. Binder gassed his way past rivals and dealt with a lack of optimal traction to grab 10th.
Acosta is 5th in the MotoGP standings. Binder holds 11th followed by Bastianini in 13th and Viñales in 15th. MotoGP now has a one-day IRTA test at Misano on Monday and then commences a Pan-Asia trek with races in Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia in the next five weeks. First-up is the trip to the Mobility Resort Motegi from September 26-28.
Brad Binder, 10th and 11th in the championship standings: “A really difficult race. It was hard to push-on from the beginning and there was a big difference between front and rear grip. Then there was a lot of chatter from 12 laps onwards and it was hard to stay up. Really tricky, and we didn’t expect that. In the end we could put together the weekend that we planned. It’s a good thing that we have a test here tomorrow so we can play around a little bit to understand the right way to go for the future.”
