ROSSI’S DUCATI STRUGGLES SHOW ACOSTA’S SUCCESS ISN’T GUARANTEED

Pedro Acosta’s move from KTM to Ducati’s factory MotoGP team will bring a new challenge: adapting to a different motorcycle, rather than simply carrying his speed across. The Spaniard is expected to line up alongside Marc Marquez, a pairing that has fuelled speculation about a fierce internal contest. But former Yamaha engineer Ramon Forcada cautions that success on a competitive bike is never guaranteed.

Forcada pointed to Valentino Rossi’s two seasons with Ducati as a warning. The seven-time premier-class champion joined Italy’s flagship manufacturer amid huge expectations, yet the partnership produced no victories and three podiums before Rossi returned to Yamaha for 2012. “There have been riders who’ve moved to a winning bike and failed to adapt – starting with a certain Rossi,” Forcada said on the DURALAVITA podcast.

He also recalled Troy Bayliss, who had won on a Ducati but struggled after joining Honda. Forcada said Bayliss “didn’t know how to ride” the Honda and could not find his rhythm on it, despite Forcada’s high regard for the machine. The examples, he argued, show that a rider’s pace and a bike’s performance do not automatically combine into success.

Forcada still sees Acosta’s prospects as strong, estimating there is “probably a 99 per cent chance” he will do well at Ducati — but stressed that it is not certain. Acosta has already sought to temper expectations ahead of the switch, though anticipation around his partnership with Marquez is likely to remain high.