Brad Binder explains double crash in Le Mans MotoGP race

KTM’s Brad Binder has apologised to his team after two crashes took him out of last weekend’s wet MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The South African rider didn’t qualify well at Le Mans, as he put his factory RC16 13th on the grid having narrowly missed out on a Q2 place in qualifying.

He crashed in the sprint on Saturday, but was fancied as a bet for the podium in the rain-hit grand prix having last won a MotoGP race in Austria in 2021 while using slick tyres on a wet track.

But his race went off the rails at the end of lap four when he crashed at the final corner.

He rejoined and served the double long lap penalty he was given for switching to slicks at the end of the sighting lap prior to the start, but wouldn’t make it back to pitlane to swap to his wet bike as he crashed a second time.

“Well, I was pretty sure that the slicks were the good choice for when we went out for the first start,” told MotoGP’s official website.

“I then it was soaked, the track was wet, so everyone came in.

“We put on the wets, went out again, quick start procedure and the track was bone dry.

“So, I decided to come in and put the slicks on - which was the good choice at the time.

“Three laps later it started to rain a bit heavier and everything seemed ok.

“I could manage the conditions alright, but when we got to the last corner it seemed like it had rained there in the last two corners a bit and I didn’t quite notice that it had rained that amount.

“I threw it down the first time, picked the bike up, went and did the two long lap penalties for coming in before the race.

“I was planning to come in for the wets, because obviously the track was really wet and I lost the front at Turn 1.

“Sorry to my team. It’s really been a difficult weekend and it would have been nice to get them a really good result.”

Brad Binder currently sits 14th in the championship on 32 points, one clear of Tech3’s Enea Bastianini who was 13th in a French GP in which he received four long lap penalties.

KTM’s French GP overall was positive, with Pedro Acosta and Maverick Vinales showing well in dry conditions across the weekend and completing the top five in the grand prix.

Despite its tough start to 2025, KTM is third in the manufacturers’ table on 76 points and is nine down on Honda.