Pedro Acosta disappointed, message to KTM: "A wasted year, I'm not here for this

Acosta is not thrilled with his season, even though he undeniably made progress and matured as a MotoGP rider.

He feels like a top rider, but Pedro Acosta doesn’t have a KTM RC16 that allows him to aim for victories. That’s the reality. He hoped to take his first MotoGP win in Valencia, but it didn’t happen: second place in the sprint race, fourth in the main race. Appointment postponed to 2026, hoping to have a more competitive bike than the current one.

After the Valencia Grand Prix, the two-time world champion did not hide his disappointment with how the race went and with the season overall: "The race went as we expected. I struggled at the beginning," he told Motosan, I felt more or less okay midway through and then struggled again at the end. There’s no magic in MotoGP; you have to know where you stand. The season was a bit of a pity because we didn’t fight for anything. It was like a lost year of my life."

Acosta finished fourth in the overall standings, but he is not satisfied with that result in his second MotoGP season: "I told KTM on the first day I came here: I didn’t come for this. I think I made a big step forward mid-season and became much more consistent. I can read races better, understand where I am, and hang on to the bike—something I lacked before and that caused many crashes. But it’s not enough to aim for the podium. I came here with the dream of fighting for the championship, and that’s not what we achieved."

The Red Bull KTM Factory rider is pleased with his growth, emphasizes that his season finale was at a very high level, and says the time for victory will come: "Every situation is making me better. Now I see races differently. Before, I would have thrown the bike away. From the Indonesian Grand Prix to today, I’ve gotten good results, always in the top five. I’m becoming a better rider for when my moment comes—and it will come. I’ve made few mistakes, and the few I’ve made were mostly in sprint races."

Acosta also reiterated what the RC16’s main issue is—traction—which is instead a strong point for Ducati: "We know our limits. Every time I’m behind someone, I open the throttle and can’t get traction. So it’s very difficult to fight for position when you’re coming in so deep on the brakes." Even though he’s a great braker, he can’t work miracles without a bit more traction. KTM will have to work hard to give him a better bike in 2026, otherwise Pedro will look elsewhere in 2027.