The striking change in Acosta’s mindset and maturity in MotoGP

Pedro Acosta’s maiden MotoGP campaign in 2024 was riddled with errors and missed opportunities. While he was incredibly quick from the outset, and didn’t hesitate to go head-to-head with series heavyweights like Marc Marquez, he crashed too often and lacked the consistency needed to turn his speed into top results.

Even as recently as last month’s Hungarian GP, he admitted that he needed to tone down his aggression after crashing in qualifying and throwing away a likely front-row start.

While some of those mistakes could be chalked up to inexperience, he had also been increasingly frustrated over KTM’s situation both on and off the track.

Since the summer, though, stability has returned to Mattighofen following Bajaj’s takeover, and the upgrade KTM introduced in Austria has turned the RC16 into a regular podium contender.

Along with this improvement in speed, Acosta now looks a much more mature rider too. Consistency lies firmly at the top of his priorities.

While another rider may have been frustrated to lose out on a podium due to the wrong tyre choice, Acosta was more than content to bag another solid haul of points in fourth.

“P4 again, we have to be happy, because we had a really solid weekend,” he said on Sunday. “A lot of good points and a lot of improvement for the team. Also, I’m super happy for KTM that [it] put a bike on the podium for the fourth weekend in a row [counting sprints]. Happy about the weekend.”

With Brad Binder underperforming on the other side of the garage, the Spaniard has taken on the role of team leader at KTM’s factory squad.

That means helping push the team in the right direction and being happy with its achievements, even if Enea Bastianini snatches third place from him on a Tech3-run RC16, as happened in Barcelona.

Even Acosta readily admitted that he has undergone a major shift in mentality over the past few months.

“I feel that for the first time we are creating a very solid foundation,” he said. “Three months ago, Pedro would have thrown the bike into the stands and said, ‘Guys, you stay there.’ Do you understand what I mean?

“I think we’re laying the groundwork, we’re not making a lot of mistakes in the race. I may be lacking, I knew Montmelo was going to be tough, but now we’re coming to a nice part of the season, with circuits that I like and we’re doing well. It’s time to build the future.”

As Acosta noted earlier, KTM has been enjoying a mid-season resurgence, having finished on the podium in three of the last four grands prix. Counting sprints as well, an RC16 has now featured in the top three for four consecutive weekends.

It’s exactly this consistency that has put KTM just two points behind Aprilia in the fight for the best-of-the-rest spot behind all-conquering Ducati in the constructors’ championship.

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: KTM Images

But even if a podium goes amiss, Acosta knows that a top-five finish is sufficient, as long as he is racing at the sharp end of the field every weekend.

“I want to be, in every session I can, from the start of the summer until the end of the year, in the top five,” he said. “That’s what gives you consistency, what gives you speed, and you see what the other riders are doing.

“We’re seeing Marc and Alex Marquez who are unbeatable at the moment, Marco Bezzecchi is very fast, and the three KTMs, while [Tech3 rider] Maverick Vinales is recovering [from injury]. It’s important to be consistent. Last year I made a lot of mistakes, and now I have to find the consistency I lacked last year.”

It marks a striking shift in mindset for a rider who, 12 months ago in Japan, was defiant after taking pole but crashing out of both races.

“I’m not going to accept that the Ducati is better than the KTM, even if that leads to me crashing some more times,” he said at that time.