ACOSTA SAYS HE WASN’T READY FOR A DUCATI MOVE IN 2026

Pedro Acosta says he was not in the right frame of mind to join Ducati for the 2026 MotoGP season, despite discussing a possible move to VR46 during a difficult year with KTM. Looking back, the Spaniard believes the frustration he was carrying would have made it hard to perform on a new bike.

“Maybe I would have gotten on the bike, but with all the frustration I was carrying, I wouldn’t have done well,” Acosta told AS. “Things turned out the way they did.”

Acosta stayed with KTM for the final year of his contract and went on to claim his first MotoGP victory in Austria. He says that period helped him regain confidence and recognise when he was ready for a bigger challenge.

“This opportunity came along when I was ready,” he said, explaining that he had come through the difficult spell, begun producing results and shown he could make a difference compared with the other riders on the same brand. “I think that’s when I realised I was ready to take on a challenge like this.”

That challenge will begin in 2027, when Acosta is set to join Ducati’s factory team alongside Marc Marquez. The move places the young race winner on the same machinery as the seven-time world champion, with expectations that he could become a serious title contender.

Acosta is also treating the partnership as a chance to learn from Marquez before the veteran eventually retires. “This is the last chance — or one of the last — a young rider will have to learn from him before he retires,” he said.

His first priority, however, will be adjusting to a new organisation. After six years with KTM, Acosta says he understands how that team operates but has yet to learn Ducati’s methods. “My main goal will be to understand how the team works, how they operate there,” he said. “So first of all, I’ll have to adapt and then see if I can gradually learn something from Marc.”