Pedro Acosta has expressed cautious optimism as KTM begins to recover from a difficult period during the 2025 MotoGP season, highlighting steady progress since the summer break. While the Austrian manufacturer struggled both financially and on the track earlier this year, Acosta acknowledges improvements but emphasizes that the team is not yet ready to challenge for wins regularly.
Acosta Acknowledges Signs of Improvement Amid Ongoing Challenges
KTM faced a major financial crisis earlier in 2025 that cast uncertainty over its future in MotoGP, coinciding with a notable decline in race performance compared to the previous season. Acosta, who had been vocal about the team’s struggles and his own uncertain future, has recently experienced more consistent results, including KTM’s first podium of the year at Brno in round 12. Despite this, he remains measured about their current capabilities.
Reflecting on recent weekends, Acosta said,
“We were working quite ok in the last couple of weekends, especially since I had the surgery in my right arm,”
highlighting both physical recovery and enhanced team pace. He added,
“It’s true that we are still not in the moment to think about victories and all these things, even sometimes to do a podium, but anyway we have to try to catch the opportunities that are around the championship.”
Addressing the difficult start of the season, Acosta noted,
“It was not an easy first part of the championship for me and KTM. Now we are coming back faster than last year and sometimes the experience is paying off for this.”
He further recognized progress saying,
“I mean, was not easy. That’s for sure. But we go away from the dark hole that we were in.”
Looking ahead, Acosta expressed confidence in continued development, stating,
“And now we have to keep going. We know that the bike will improve. It’s a matter of time.”
Preparing for upcoming races, he remarked,
“Now we have a good race for us, for the factory [in Austria], and try to charge the batteries for the Red Bull Ring.”
Brno Podium Boosts Acosta’s Confidence and KTM’s Momentum
At the Czech Grand Prix in Brno, Acosta played a key role in securing a double podium for KTM, though he acknowledged the track’s characteristics may have favored the bike. Still, he believes his own riding has improved compared to the previous season, and he senses the team is closing the gap to the front runners more regularly.
He shared,
“In all my career qualifying was not my strong point, but now we more or less managed to be minimum in the third row – which, ok, is not so good but it’s not the disaster it was in the past years.”
Acosta described how gaining experience with the bike and its electronics is helping him finalize race performance:
“Also this experience is helping because last year I was fast, but sometimes in the end of the races I was struggling to know how to use the electronics or how to ride the bike with other kinds of electronics.”
He noted ongoing work during testing and at home that has contributed to his progression. Acosta said,
“Now, this is helping a lot. In the tests we are doing a lot of work on this and also at home than this. Now, I’m riding better than last year. Ok, maybe this track was helping us a bit but in the last couple of the GP we have been catching up.”
Acosta also commented on the competitive pace of fellow riders, stating,
“Marc [Marquez] is faster than us in the beginning and end of GPs, but anyway we are getting closer to the podiums.”
Currently, Acosta holds seventh place in the championship standings with 124 points, making him the highest-ranking KTM rider this season.
Looking Ahead as KTM Aims to Build on Recent Gains
While KTM still faces challenges to consistently compete for victories, the team’s escape from the earlier struggles and Acosta’s improving racecraft suggest momentum is building. Continued development of the bike and refining rider experience could lead KTM to stronger results in the remaining 2025 races, including at the upcoming Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Acosta’s measured optimism and ability to capitalize on gradual improvements underscore KTM’s goal of returning to regular podium contention. The team’s recovery from off-track crises and renewed focus on performance mark significant steps toward stabilizing its position in MotoGP.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Is Pedro Acosta 31 or 37?
A. Before, Pedro wore the number 31 because number 37 was unavailable. His teammate, Augusto Fernandez, used number 37 at GASGAS Tech3. Augusto began competing in MotoGP in 2023 following his Moto2 championship victory.
Q. Why is Pedro Acosta so good?
A. In just two races in 2024, Acosta has done incredibly well. The new aero features and rear height control mean Moto2 and MotoGP demand different riding skills and styles.
