Pedro Acosta also thanks Bastianini: "KTM tried everything with him

Podium taken away in the Sprint and won back in the long race in Austin: Acosta enjoys an excellent result in Austin, also revealing the merits of KTM and Bastianini.

For Pedro Acosta, losing third place in the sprint race due to an irregularity in the front tire pressure was quite disappointing. The 8-second penalty dropped him to eighth, but it didn’t make him lose the desire for payback. Mission accomplished: he climbed onto the third step of the podium in the long race, beaten only by the Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, “untouchable” for everyone. In the MotoGP overall standings he remains third, 21 points behind Bez.

On Sunday he had a nasty crash in the warm-up, and his RC16 was heavily damaged by the impact. The Red Bull KTM Factory team did a great job to put him in a position to be competitive.

In the long race we saw a more effective Acosta on the straights, and it wasn’t by chance: “On Saturday KTM tried everything with Bastianini - he told Sky Sport MotoGP - it seems something worked. So, we opted to use Enea’s package on my bike as well. It helped me a lot both on the straight and in saving the tire a bit, which I was missing in the Sprint. We have to be satisfied.”

KTM experimented on Enea Bastianini’s RC16 and found some decidedly interesting ideas, considering that the rider from Rimini finished third in the Sprint and sixth on Sunday. Obviously, we’ll have to see if what they did will also work at the next Grand Prix in Jerez and the ones after.

Overall, compared to 2025, there’s been a step forward in managing the rear tire: “I don’t know what it depends on - Acosta explained - Surely KTM worked hard so that the rear tire heats up less than last year. They did a good job; the bike is also calmer for us riders, it doesn’t move around as much. We have to keep working on top speed because that’s the area we’re missing.” The drop-off of the rear tire was a major flaw, and the measures taken have delivered results.

It’s crucial to have an RC16 that’s effective on the straights as well to battle with Aprilia and Ducati. And it’s also key to have a competitive Bastianini to try to make further progress: “I’m happy for KTM and Enea - Pedro said - It’s not normal for a rider of his level to struggle. It’s very important that another KTM rider is fast too, because it helps me and the entire KTM package improve.”

Before Austin it seemed that Acosta was the only one capable of keeping KTM afloat. Last weekend suggests that Bastianini can finally run in positions more in line with his talent, as acknowledged by Pedro himself. Now we just have to wait for the European GPs.