Pedro Acosta MotoGP victory hopes rise with “similar feeling to 2024” at Motegi

Pedro Acosta’s hopes of taking back-to-back MotoGP wins were given a boost on Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Acosta heads into the Motegi race weekend off the back of a first-ever MotoGP win at the Red Bull Ring two weeks ago.

Hopes were already high for Acosta at Motegi, the Spaniard having been in victory contention there in 2024 before crashing out of the lead in the Sprint and from second in the grand prix. Last year he was on the Sprint podium as well, so his affinity for the circuit is clear, even if he found himself only 17th in the 2026 grand prix after a crash.

But Acosta ended Friday second-fastest and feeling more like 2024 than 2025 at Motegi. 

Two years on and with a win finally under his belt, Acosta is surely better prepared now to take advantage of such a feeling.

“Bike is working quite good, team is working quite good,” Pedro Acosta said after Practice in Motegi.

“Quite similar feeling to 2024 and much better than 2025, so happy.”

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider added: “At the end we are making good job. Looks like we find a good base bike for start the weekends and then just make the details for this.

“Quite happy about how the thing is working.”

Asked about why things are working better for him at Motegi this year than last, Acosta said the change in track surface and the consequently harder-compound tyres brought by Michelin could be factors.

“I mean, maybe the biggest difference is that they resurfaced whole track and also the tyres are different,” he said.

“But it's true that about tyre management, if you check all the season, we were much better than last one. 

“At the end I was quite competitive last season because I qualified P4, I was second also on Friday, I made a Sprint podium, but then I was trying a lot to survive with the tyres for this.

“Looks like it's not the same situation [as] last year.”