Morgan Bolton
Brad Binder is cognisant of the fact that things won’t be a “100% normal” for Red Bull KTM next year, but the South African MotoGP rider is confident that the team will pull through a financial crisis that has hit the team’s corporate overlord hard and which is threatening to derail the future of the entire organisation.
The Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, earlier this year, placed themselves in self-administration to avoid bankruptcy, putting a halt on all production, laying off their workforce and cutting their board, as they grapple with liabilities reported to be as high as €3 billion (about R56.86bn).
Motorsport is notoriously difficult to generate profit from, with the margins between surplus and loss tiny. It could even be argued that the primary function of the entire endeavour is to market the product on display, and in that regard, KTM has also endured a tough year dogged with frustrating moments.
Binder finished fifth in the riders’ championship, mostly thanks to his consistency, but only managed one podium – in the first race of the season in Qatar. Teenage sensation Pedro Acosta, driving for sister team GasGas Tech 3, was the only other rider within their stable to taste success, claiming four podiums to finish one position below the South African.
Reflecting on 2024. Working towards 2025.#KTM #ReadyToRace pic.twitter.com/uq9qOl5pUB
— RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING (@KTM_Racing) November 25, 2024
Jack Miller and Augusto Fernandez, meanwhile, finished in a disappointing 14th and 20th, respectively. Nonetheless, KTM still managed to finish second in the constructors’ championship, but found themselves still trailing Ducati by some margin.
Binder, speaking to Independent Media yesterday, remained optimistic that the team will take a step forward in 2025 to challenge for honours, despite the swirling concern regarding the KTM brand as a whole.
Said the 28-year-old: “Obviously, we've had a lot of time to speak to all our bosses and try to understand the situation; and for us, it's very clear that motorsports is continuing and MotoGP as a whole continues as normal.
“Well, maybe not 100% as normal. Of course, there's going to have to be some small cuts along the way. I'm very, very grateful that even though there's the challenges at the factory and challenges with KTM as a whole, the bosses have it under control and I have all the faith in the world in them. I'm confident that we're going to get through this without any issues,” he concluded. | Independent Media Sport