Jorge Lorenzo: Results will decide future of two MotoGP heavyweights

The future of both Pedro Acosta will depend on the performance of his manufacturer in 2026, Jorge Lorenzo says.

Acosta spent the early part of the 2025 season complaining about the performance of the KTM RC16 – clearly inferior to the Ducati Desmosedici – while also not being the best KTM rider, often out-paced by Maverick Vinales.

From mid-season on, though, Acosta’s own form improved, even if KTM didn’t bring any major updates to the bike.

Despite the pick-up in his own form, Acosta ended his second season in MotoGP still without a premier class win to his name, and by the end of the year he was increasingly clear that KTM must improve in 2026.

For Jorge Lorenzo, Acosta’s willingness to stay with KTM will improve only if wins arrive next season.

“It depends on the results,” Lorenzo said of Acosta’s future when speaking to the MotoGP world feed broadcast during the Valencia test.

“Now, if Pedro [Acosta] starts winning four races in a row, for sure his mind will change and he will like to stay in KTM, so it’s depending on the results.”

On Quartararo: "When you get the money but not the results…"

Acosta is not the only MotoGP rider to have been frustrated by the performance of his manufacturer in 2025, as Fabio Quartararo’s winless drought continues to stretch back to Germany 2022.

The Frenchman was the best Yamaha rider in the majority of races, and scored more points on his own than the other three full-time Yamaha riders combined in 2025, as well as taking two pole positions.

He lost the win in Silverstone for unreliability, but was generally unable to make race-winning or even podium-contending pace all year on the YZR-M1, which has left the Monster Energy Yamaha rider seem closer than ever to a manufacturer change for 2027.

“It looks like, from his words, he give an opportunity to Yamaha, also the contract economically was very good,” Lorenzo said of Quartararo.

“But, when you don’t have the money, you want the money; but when you get the money but not the results then you missed to get results. 

“So, you cannot have it all, or it’s difficult to have it all. 

“In this moment, Ducati is still the most competitive bike, but Ducati doesn’t need to pay as much as other factories who are a little behind. 

“It’s always a balance and the rider needs to decide with the terms of the will to win that they have.”

Yamaha will switch to a V4 for next year, after over 20 years of inline-four power. It will bring them in-line with the rest of the factories in MotoGP in engine configuration, Lorenzo – a three-time World Champion with the inline-four M1 – was keen to point out that it will not be a simple fix for Yamaha’s performance woes.

“It’s strange because they have a lot of experience with the inline-four, they are specialised in that,” he said.

“That’s why, probably, they never got the most powerful engine because with the inline-four it was difficult to get the most from it in terms of power. 

“Now they will have the possibility to fight with the other factories for the top speed, but for sure they are clearly disadvantaged in terms of experience with this type of engine, so it will not be an easy job.”