Pedro Acosta “struggling more” in one key area in Japan MotoGP practice
Pedro Acosta was fast on Friday at Motegi, but admits the KTM is lacking in one vital area
KTM’s Pedro Acosta admits he is “struggling much more” under braking at Motegi compared to last year after Friday practice at the 2025 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix.
The factory KTM rider scored a maiden - and so far only - MotoGP pole at Motegi last year in his rookie season, though crashed out of both races while in contention for victory.
Having found improved pace in recent rounds, Pedro Acosta maintained that on Friday in Japan as he ended the day second fastest behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi.
He did have a big crash at the end of the afternoon session, though walked away unscathed.
😱💥 @37_pedroacosta's bike is completely destroyed but he might be safely through to Q2 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/qgTLhXBGpP
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025
Speaking to TNT Sport on Friday afternoon, Acosta says he hasn’t been able to carry anything over from the Misano test to help him at Motegi, while noting that he is weaker in the braking areas on the 2025 RC16 compared to 12 months ago.
“Well, happy about the day,” he said.
“I think we improved a lot. It’s true that I think it was a difficult day for everyone, because we saw many crashes.
“Everything was quite tricky. But we managed it in the best way.
“It’s true that a crash in the end was not in the plan, but thankfully we are ok.
“Let’s see if the bike is ok, also. But I think generally, given how tough the day was, we have to be happy.”
When asked if he was using any new solutions from the Misano test, he replied: “Not at all. It’s true that last year we were competitive here.
“This year it looks like also. It’s true that we are struggling much more than last year in the braking points.
“But it’s time to work. Like I said, the track was quite tricky until the end of PR. Let’s see what’s going on tomorrow.”
While heading into Saturday as one of the favourites to fight for pole, Acosta is wary of a “really difficult” qualifying due to the pace of those around him.
“We see that Marco is super-fast with the Aprilia here,” he added.
“We see that Honda is making a big step. We see that also Marc [Marquez] and Pecco [Bagnaia] are in Q2. For this, it’s going to be a really difficult Q2.”
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