Pedro Acosta’s revival? “Sometimes MotoGP is not fair” but patience pays off

Pol Espargaro believes better communication between KTM and young star Pedro Acosta has been a key part of the Spaniard’s resurgence.

Promoted to the factory team on the back of five grand prix podiums as a rookie with Tech3, Acosta endured a troubled start to 2025, scoring just 58 points from the opening seven rounds.

The nadir came at Sachsenring, where he fell from fifth place and salvaged only a single point across the weekend.

But the rebound was just as dramatic.

Acosta claimed his and KTM’s first podiums of the year with 2-3 results at Brno, then - aided by new aero at Red Bull Ring - kept the momentum rolling to score 65 points over the last three rounds.

Only Marco Bezzecchi (67) and runaway title leader Marc Marquez (a perfect 111) have scored more.

Acosta credits senior KTM figures Pit Beirer and Aki Ajo for helping instil patience during the difficult moments:

“When something is not in your hands, you cannot push harder and harder,” he explained.

“Because sometimes, like Sachsenring, you crash and lose more than you could gain even if you pushed less.

“Sometimes being more calm, more positive…

“Like I said many times, I have not had a bad season until this one. And this year, I'm learning more than in the last four years.”

"Sometimes MotoGP is not fair"

It’s a situation Espargaro sympathises with.

Espargaro also rose to the premier-class as a reigning Moto2 world champion, in 2014, but didn’t stand on the podium during the next three seasons as a satellite Yamaha rider.

“I believe that good communication is really important,” test rider Espargaro, who took part in the recent Balaton Park round as a stand-in for Maverick Vinales, said of the meetings between KTM and Acosta.

“I understand fully Pedro. He's a young guy, super talented. And he is seeing, which is very difficult and it took a lot of time for me to accept, other riders with less talent beating him.

“When you are young, seeing these things happening, you feel like it's super unfair. But it is what it is. Sometimes MotoGP is not fair. Life in general.

“Sometimes you need to understand that you need to finish P6. It’s not nice, but it’s something you learn as you grow and gain more experience. I think he’s in that process.”

Acosta highlighted the change in mentality after standing on KTM’s home podium at the Red Bull Ring:

“I have to be honest, if today were a normal day in the life of Pedro Acosta, I would send the bike into the gravel,” he smiled.

“Because I would fight for the podium with everything I have. But sometimes you have to think that when you look up the word ‘championship’ in the dictionary, it's more than one race.”

KTM “closed so much the gap to Ducati”

Espargaro also pointed to improvements in the RC16 as helping Acosta ride with more self-control.

“The factory is working a lot. We had very difficult moments, as you all know. But it’s improving and we are starting to deliver some very good material to the guys.

“There are still some things to come, but I think we closed so much the gap to the Ducatis.”

Acosta is fifth in the world championship, one place behind the top non-Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), heading into this weekend’s Catalan MotoGP round.