MotoGP sensation Pedro Acosta recently shared his mixed feelings after the Sepang test, admitting he’s only ‘six out of ten happy’ with his performance—but why? Here’s the surprising part: despite the lukewarm score, Acosta believes the KTM bike has untapped potential, even if it’s still trailing Ducati. Let’s dive into what really happened.
Acosta, the Spanish star, finished eighth overall, but there’s a catch. His fastest lap of 1m 57.116s came on day two, and he’s convinced the bike can go even quicker. ‘I think we’re looking at around 1m 56.8s if everything aligns,’ Acosta hinted, shedding light on the RC16’s true capabilities. But here’s where it gets controversial: while the timesheets suggest KTM is behind, Acosta insists the bike is more competitive than it seems—though he openly admits, ‘We’re still slower than Ducati.’
So, what held him back? Acosta spent day one testing the chassis and day two riding last year’s bike. On day three, he juggled both the standard and new bikes, missing the optimal window for a fresh tire during his time attack. ‘It wasn’t my main focus,’ he clarified, emphasizing his priority was gathering data for the Thailand test.
Interestingly, Acosta shone during the Sprint simulation, finishing just behind the factory Ducatis of Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, and Marc Marquez. He completed the ten-lap distance 6.482s slower than Alex and nearly 4 seconds behind Marc—a solid improvement from his +5.155s gap in last October’s Sprint race.
And this is the part most people miss: Acosta got to shadow Marc Marquez, the rider he’s rumored to join at Ducati in 2027, during the simulation. ‘There were unexpected moments,’ Acosta teased cryptically. He noticed Marc’s tires fading in the final laps but acknowledged, ‘We’re still behind Ducati, but I’m focused on refining our package for Thailand.’
When pressed for details, Acosta revealed, ‘Some unexpected things appeared with the bike, and we need to figure them out.’ While the Sprint simulation wasn’t ‘wow-worthy,’ he noted progress: ‘The bike feels better than last year, but Ducati still has the edge.’
Looking ahead, Acosta’s goal is clear: ‘I want to focus on pure speed in Thailand. Here, I prioritized consistency over risk.’ He concluded, ‘I’m six out of ten happy—not with the results, but with the process. We’re building something solid.’
Meanwhile, Tech3’s Maverick Vinales trailed Acosta slightly in ninth, with Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder rounding out the RC16 contingent in 11th and 13th, respectively.
Controversial question for you: Is Acosta’s optimism about KTM’s potential justified, or is Ducati simply too far ahead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—this debate is far from over!
