Brad Binder suffered a difficult Sprint race ahead of the Thailand Grand Prix as he struggled to ninth place at Buriram.
The South African rider started in 13th place before battling in the thick of the midfield to collect just one point for his efforts.
Binder has been consistently in the top 10 over the season, scoring points at all but two of the MotoGP race weekends.
He scored a podium at the season opener in Qatar, taking second place at the Lusail International Circuit, his only trip to the rostrum this year.
Binder competed well to score a point in Thailand but admitted to the MotoGP website he was wrong about a key aspect of the race which cost him time.
Brad Binder wrongly thought he could stay with the frontrunners in Thailand
Binder was battling in the midfield throughout the Sprint in Thailand as he tried to keep up with the frontrunners.
The KTM rider couldn’t quite manage it, and he had to settle for a point to begin the weekend in Thailand, a place where he finished third last year.
Binder struggled to manage the rear tyre over the race, which is very important to keep under control as traction is vital.
The South African explained that he lost the peak of the rear tyre over the race distance, which made it difficult for him to defend from the bikes behind him.
He said: “Well, I tried really hard at the beginning to go with the guys. Something told me if I could get there, I could stay, but I was wrong.
“It’s fine to ride out your skin the first four, five laps, but then as soon as the rear tyre drops, we just go backwards. We just don’t have the pace to go with the boys.
“It’s difficult for sure because I feel like I can give it a good go. But as soon as the rear tyre drops a little bit, if I just keep pushing I just start losing the front.”
Brad Binder’s season has been a step backwards from last season
Binder has consistently on the pace and scoring points in the top 10 but lacked the ultimate speed to fight for victories.
The South African scored five podiums last year, including in Thailand where he drove to third place for KTM towards the end of the year.
He still has the opportunity to deliver good results over the final two rounds in Malaysia and Valencia after Thailand to close the year.
Binder performed well at Valencia last year, taking third place, but the standard is very high as Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin are enduring a tough title fight.