Pedro Acosta leaves KTM wondering “how he does it” in weakest area of MotoGP bike
Pedro Acosta’s braking and turning technique is helping overcome KTM’s main MotoGP weakness.
KTM began the 2026 MotoGP World Championship on top, with Pedro Acosta winning the season-opening Buriram Sprint.
The Spaniard remained at the head of the standings until the fourth race in Brazil, but Aprilia and Ducati have since emerged as the dominant forces.
KTM, meanwhile, endured engine reliability problems and has settled into a clear third-best in the constructors’ championship, losing touch with the Italian brands but - thanks largely to Acosta - comfortably ahead of Honda and Yamaha.
Asked to identify the RC16’s weakest point, KTM motorsport director Pit Beirer pinpointed a "crucial moment" of corner entry.
“Very simple, but it’s not so easy to fix it.
“It's definitely always just the point when we turn and release the brake.
“When the riders talk to me it’s, ‘Okay, the others look in the direction they want to go, and their bike is going, and we struggle for one moment still to turn’.
“That's exactly the moment where we need to improve.
"Crucial moment"
“Then the rest is just a follow-up of that. Because if you turn a little better, you pick up [the bike] more early, so you put the tyre in the right place and you have more drive.
“We miss drive, but we are on the side [of the tyre still leaning] and so we are spinning. So it's not missing power, you're in the wrong position to accelerate.
“So that very crucial moment when you release the brake and turn, that's where we need to get better.”
Acosta’s performances have delivered eight podiums in his final KTM season, keeping him fifth in the world championship and within reach of his target of a top-three finish.
But the Spaniard is currently the only KTM rider inside the championship top 11.
Beirer confirmed Acosta is making the difference precisely where the RC16 is weakest.
“Yeah, he helps the bike the most to open earlier and turn," Beirer said. "He supports the bike a lot in that moment.
"Because he's so incredibly strong on the brakes and still makes his turning happen.
“We wonder sometimes on the data, how he does it.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
