On 18 June at the Sachsenring, Brad Binder’s race ended in chaos when his KTM’s rear tyre shredded in the final laps, costing him a top-ten finish. The Red Bull KTM rider thought he was out of fuel or had a puncture before realising the tyre was simply destroyed. He finished tenth after Enea Bastianini passed him late on.
What happened?
Binder had been cruising through the German MotoGP until the last two laps. He felt gentle on the rear tyre, expecting to have grip left for a push. Then his bike lost power on the climb from Turn 8 to 9. “First I thought I was running out of fuel. Then maybe a puncture. Then I saw the tyre was buggered,” he told reporters after the race. “It was the biggest drop I’ve ever had.”
His KTM’s rear tyre wore so badly that he could only watch as Bastianini sliced past. Binder still managed to snatch tenth from Jack Miller, who also struggled with tyre wear, but the damage was done. “I honestly thought I was going forward at halfway, then it just stopped,” he said.
Why it matters for Brad Binder
Rear-tyre wear has dogged Binder for years. “I know from all the years I’m hard on the rear tyre. I’ve always got the highest wear on the rear,” he admitted. “It’s a battle I’ve been winning for years that I don’t want to.”
The Sachsenring result underlines a recurring flaw in Binder’s 2026 season. While teammate Pedro Acosta finished fourth as the top KTM rider, Binder’s race exposed the team’s ongoing tyre management struggle. His raw pace remains elite, but consistency is the missing piece.
What comes next?
Binder heads to the next round with a clear target: avoid another tyre-induced collapse. KTM must tighten its rear-tyre strategy before the next race. Binder’s tenth at Sachsenring leaves him outside the points in the championship fight, but his qualifying speed still threatens podiums.
The question now is whether Binder can tame his tyre habit before the next sprint. If not, more late-race heartbreak awaits. His next chance comes at the next MotoGP round, where every lap counts.