Pedro Acosta “not expecting anything” a year on from Japan MotoGP near-miss

Pedro Acosta says he is “not expecting anything” coming into the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix despite his victory near-miss from Motegi last year.

The KTM rider was leading the sprint at Motegi last year as a rookie when he crashed late one, while in the grand prix he also fell having shown pace good enough to fight for victory.

Having enjoyed a recent for rebound in 2025, Pedro Acosta is being looked at as a rider to watch this weekend in Japan.

However, he has issued a message of caution on Thursday.

“I mean, last year from the moment I jumped on the bike we were quite competitive,” he said.

“Let’s see what is going on this year. Being honest, I’m not expecting anything.

“Let’s see what happens when I am on the bike on Friday, and after that let’s try to work.

“Well, I think we should suit [this track].

“But, as I said, no expectations. It’s true that the bike changed a lot. It looks now more balanced.

“Last year we were super strong on brakes and this year it looks not that much.

“But we are improving in many areas. For this, I think we have to be calm and not think so much.”

Qualifying has been Acosta’s biggest weakness this season, with the KTM rider yet to get onto the front row.

As such, he has identified this as the area he needs to improve the most in the final rounds, as well as his overall race management.

“Well, again, no targets,” he added.

“Try to be always in this top five, try to be constantly competitive. I think I need to improve how I am managing the races, how the guys are managing the race weekend.

“I think we have to improve everyone, but we are getting closer.

“More than anything [I need to improve qualifying] because we are losing too much time at the beginning of races trying to overtake.

“It’s true that for the TV it’s quite nice, but for the result it’s not that good. In Barcelona we saw at the beginning I was able to be quite fast starting more in front.

“It’s never easy to come back every weekend from the third row of the grid. Let’s try to improve that area from here to the end of the season.”