MARC MARQUEZ’S TEAM CHIEF SAYS PEDRO ACOSTA WILL BE A “MASSIVE CHALLENGE” AT DUCATI

Marc Marquez’s arrival at Ducati next season is already being framed as a new kind of challenge inside the garage—one that his future team-mate Pedro Acosta may be uniquely positioned to deliver.

Speaking about the move, KTM crew chief Paul Trevathan said Marquez has “never had anybody like Acosta next to him.” Trevathan has worked with Acosta since the Spaniard stepped up to MotoGP in 2024, following his Moto2 title, and he believes the dynamic between rider and crew will be tested immediately once Acosta joins the Ducati Lenovo Team environment.

While the exact pairing of riders and crew chiefs for 2027 is not yet confirmed, Trevathan’s comments came with an expectation of how Ducati’s structure will be set. Acosta is due to move to Ducati, and it is also anticipated that Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio will arrive at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. For Ducati, Trevathan suggested Acosta will likely be matched with one of the existing crew chiefs—most plausibly Christian Gabbarini, who currently works with Francesco Bagnaia.

Trevathan pointed to the rapport he and Acosta have built over the past two-and-a-half seasons, describing Acosta as both one of MotoGP’s most formidable riders and, at times, one of its most frustrated. That frustration, Trevathan said, has been eased recently by a breakthrough result: Acosta won his first MotoGP race last weekend in Austria.

For Trevathan, that first premier-class win matters not just as a milestone, but because it changes the psychological footing of a rider about to become Marquez’s team-mate. He noted that the last KTM rider to move into Marquez’s team-mate role was Pol Espargaro—who, Trevathan said, went winless and returned to KTM still without a victory two seasons later. With Acosta, Trevathan believes the situation feels different, especially now that the rider has already proven he can win at the top level.

The crew chief then turned to what he sees as the core threat to Marquez: not only speed, but the way Acosta will push for progress and force Marquez to respond. Trevathan called it “a massive challenge,” adding that “the fight starts already in the box.” In his view, Marquez is the best in the sport at getting under a team-mate’s skin and at understanding how to make the “company” around him—an approach Trevathan linked to Marquez’s ability to control the atmosphere and pressure inside the team.

However, Trevathan argued that Acosta is not the kind of opponent Marquez has previously had alongside him. He said, “But he’s also never had anybody like Acosta next to him, either,” and suggested that Acosta’s mindset is built around effort and trying, rather than simply chasing outcomes.

Trevathan also relayed a message Acosta has shared with him: “it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about trying.” From there, he framed a scenario in which Marquez’s advantage could be challenged on the same machine. If Marquez beats Acosta “on the same bike,” Trevathan said, then Marquez can “walk away saying ‘Okay, the guy’s better’.” But Trevathan believes Acosta’s motivation is to put himself in that position—pushing hard enough that the comparison becomes unavoidable.

While Trevathan praised Marquez as “a fantastic champion” and “a fantastic rider,” he insisted he does not think Marquez has had a “monster” next to him like Acosta. He predicted the pairing will create a high-intensity rivalry, telling viewers: “It will be fireworks for you guys, I tell you.”

With Acosta’s first MotoGP win now in the rear-view mirror and his Ducati move on the horizon, Trevathan’s message was clear: the challenge for Marquez will begin long before the first lap—inside the team, inside the box, and in the day-to-day battle for control of momentum.