KTM between mystery and inconsistency: will the Jerez tests finally set the course?

KTM brand still without an identity in MotoGP. Will the Jerez tests provide direction?

We’re only at the fourth GP in this start to the 2026 MotoGP season, but there’s one manufacturer in particular that sparks curiosity. We’re talking about KTM, which in a sense is currently the most mysterious due to its inconsistency and the gap in results from one GP to the next, or even from one race to another within the same GP. The clearest example is what Pedro Acosta has done so far, now the KTM reference point, able to go from podium GPs to more anonymous races like Jerez, only to resurface in the Monday test and finish behind Aprilia and Ducati (though everyone’s times should be taken with a grain of salt, given the amount of rubber on track after a Grand Prix). Encouraging signs are also coming from Enea Bastianini, but they need to be confirmed in the next rounds. The hope is that the data collected will lead to greater consistency in results, something we’ve essentially seen with all the other brands, both positively and negatively.

Test rider Dani Pedrosa was the first to hit the track with a new aerodynamic profile, which then also appeared on the factory riders’ RC16s and was evaluated very positively by everyone. In terms of priorities, there was also work on optimizing the setup and the suspension—not the only areas, but the most important for this official test day at Jerez. There were race-pace improvements for Bastianini, top KTM in the Jerez GP, while in Binder’s case a new rear shock also stood out, which seems to have improved cornering feel. As for Pedro Acosta, there were aerodynamic tests but not only that—there was one big question mark. “I needed to understand why I’m not fast on race weekends.” He doesn’t mince words and gets straight to the point. Did he manage it? “More or less,” he told Sky Sport MotoGP. But he showed satisfaction after the Jerez test day: “We’ve taken a step forward, with my best time at this track.”

Before claiming victory, however, Acosta prefers to wait for the next tests in Barcelona to get more confirmation on the quality of the updates from Mattighofen. He does admit to a strange change between one GP and the next. “We arrived in Jerez with good thoughts, we wanted to do well, but the bike I’d been riding from the start of the year up to Austin had disappeared,” Acosta added. “So I wasn’t able to race the way I wanted like before, while in the test that bike came back and we were fast.” The next GP is at Le Mans, and the Spaniard doesn’t spare himself a jab. “I’m usually fast but I always screw something up,” he admitted. “Now we need to stay focused and see what we can do.”