KTM BOSS BACKS NEW LINE-UP AFTER ACOSTA’S DEPARTURE

KTM will enter MotoGP’s 2027 season with an entirely new four-rider line-up, as the championship prepares for major technical changes and a reshaped rider market. The new rules include engines reduced from 1,000cc to 850cc, less aerodynamic downforce and a ban on ride-height devices.

Pedro Acosta, KTM’s leading rider after finishing fourth in the championship and winning the Austrian Grand Prix, is moving to Ducati’s factory team to partner Marc Marquez. Brad Binder has not secured another MotoGP seat and will race for BMW in the Superbike World Championship for the next two years. Enea Bastianini is joining Trackhouse Aprilia, while Maverick Vinales is ending his grand prix career.

KTM’s factory team has signed current Ducati riders Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Tech3 will field Honda factory rider Luca Marini and Moto2 racer Senna Agius.

KTM managing director Gottfried Neumeister said he was confident in the new recruits, stressing that the team had chosen them as well as being chosen by them. He also explained why Acosta’s departure was difficult to prevent: “He said it wasn’t about one million more or less, and that, as a Spaniard, it was important for him to beat Marc Marquez with the same weapons. I had no argument against that.”

Neumeister said Acosta’s results reflected the work of the people around him as well as his own ability. “If Pedro didn’t have a bike capable of producing those results, he couldn’t deliver them,” he said. “I will never underestimate his constant commitment, but behind a great rider there is a team.”

He added that he believed both incoming factory riders could make a difference, noting that neither currently has a factory team behind them. KTM’s aim, he said, is to improve steadily through execution and data-based analysis rather than expect an immediate turnaround. “I’m not talking about half a year or a year; we have to deliver consistently.”