ACOSTA ADMITS TITLE CHANCES ARE SLIM BUT STILL MATHEMATICALLY ALIVE

Pedro Acosta arrives at the Qatar Grand Prix knowing that his chances of winning the MotoGP title are slim, but the Red Bull KTM rider says he is not giving up while the championship remains mathematically open.

Speaking ahead of the floodlit weekend at Lusail, Acosta said his journey had gone smoothly and that the circuit looked as usual. He acknowledged concerns raised in media coverage about the event, but stressed that riders and teams had professional obligations to fulfil. “At the end of the day, we have to do what our contracts require,” he said, adding that they also had responsibilities to the championship, teams and manufacturers.

Qatar has not been an easy venue for Acosta recently. He finished eighth in last year’s main race, 14 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez, and was 11th in the sprint. Looking back, he said he had speed at Doha in 2024 but lacked experience. Brad Binder, he recalled, finished second that year. In 2025, Maverick Viñales was particularly quick while Acosta and Binder struggled. KTM still needs to find pace, Acosta said, pointing to Malaysia as a weekend when the team was at a disadvantage in that area.

The Spaniard is fourth in the standings, 104 points behind leader Marquez, with three race weekends remaining. “Fortunately, mathematically we are still in the title fight,” Acosta said, while conceding that the deficit makes a championship charge “almost impossible.” He believes the more realistic target is third place, with Marco Bezzecchi the rival he is focused on; Jorge Martin, he said, is already too far ahead.

Acosta knows the scale of the task: he needs to recover a large number of points and would probably have to win nearly every remaining race. He admitted that such a run looks unlikely at present, but said KTM’s aim from Qatar through the end of the season is to close the gap to Bezzecchi.