PEDRO ACOSTA SAYS HE’LL PUSH KTM TO VICTORY WITH MORE RISKS UNTIL YEAR END

Pedro Acosta’s 2026 campaign is entering its final stretch with KTM, and the 22-year-old insists his approach will not change even as the championship picture becomes tougher. With his gap to the current leader, Jorge Martin (Aprilia), standing at 67 points, Acosta still believes there is something to fight for—specifically a possible third place in the standings. “We have nothing to lose!” he said. “The third championship position is still within reach. We still have something we want to achieve. We’re far behind the leader, but third isn’t that far away.” He noted that KTM currently trails Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) by 43 points ahead of the Emilia-Romagna races.

Acosta also underlined that neither he nor the team have reduced their efforts for the remainder of the season. Instead, he pointed to a more aggressive mindset: “We’re taking bigger risks.” According to Acosta, that doesn’t only apply to what happens on race day. Speaking at Misano, he said the team’s work is not fundamentally different, but that it is now about pushing harder across the whole package: “We’re not working in a different way. It’s just we’re taking more risks. Now we have nothing to lose.” He added that the team is willing to “change more the bike, going up, down, whatever we need,” framing it as a way to better understand what is not matching his expectations. “I’m quite happy with the way we’re taking risks. Now I’m more able to understand if something’s not going as I expect. I’m able to take a step back.”

While acknowledging the competitive gap, Acosta was clear about the reality of the current field. “We have to accept that Aprilia and Ducati are one or two steps ahead of everyone else,” he said, adding that “Honda is also doing well at the moment.” At Misano, he expanded on that assessment, saying: “But we have to understand Aprilia and Ducati are one or two steps in front of everyone. Then Honda is really fast at the moment. we’re with Honda and Yamaha. We have to be clear with that.”

Despite the challenge, his goal remains unchanged: to win a Grand Prix with KTM. “If it doesn’t work out, it won’t be because I didn’t try,” Acosta said. “Until the last day, I’ll give everything.” He reiterated the same message more directly at Misano, insisting that the effort is already there: “For sure if I don’t get it, it’s not because I didn’t try.” He also pointed to his own consistency and how he believes he is pushing KTM harder than before, saying he is “making a big difference compared to the other KTMs,” and that he is “constantly in the top five” while “pushing KTM more in the past to bring results home.”

Acosta’s comments came after a season in which he has already shown flashes of race pace. He has ended a Sprint victory drought at the Buriram opener, and he has finished second in a premier-class grand prix on eight occasions. Most recently, he was runner-up to his future teammate at Aragon—where he will join Marc Marquez at the factory Ducati team next season.

Asked which remaining rounds might offer his best chance, Acosta pointed towards the flyaways. “Normally, Japan we’re quite fast,” he said, and added that across Asia the team is “quite competitive in every track,” while singling out Phillip Island as an exception where he “struggled.” He also said he is encouraged by reliability and the way the season has been managed so far: “At the moment I’m happy because we’re much more consistent in reliability. And we’re not having any issues. First thing’s done. Now it’s time to try and bring some performance.”

Acosta also looked beyond the immediate end of his KTM stint, noting that he will have time to reflect before the next chapter. “I’ll have a long winter to think about 2027,” he said. “Until the last day of the year I’m a KTM rider. For this I’ll just try and bring the best possible result home.”