Pedro Acosta reveals how KTM helped him ‘escape from hell’ with MotoGP offer

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Pedro Acosta’s rise to MotoGP has been incredibly impressive as the Spaniard has displayed standout performances throughout his career.

The 20-year-old made the step to Moto3 in 2021 after winning the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and finishing third in the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship the year prior. Racing with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, Acosta won the title in his rookie season with eight wins.

Making the step up to Moto2 with the same team in 2022, the Spaniard finished fifth in the standings with three wins, before going on to win the championship the following year with seven wins and 14 podiums, beating Tony Arbolino to the title by 83 points.

After such an impressive campaign, Acosta was afforded his chance in MotoGP, joining the KTM satellite team Red Bull KTM Tech3 alongside Augusto Fernandez.

Pedro Acosta shares how KTM’s MotoGP offer helped him ‘escape from hell’

Acosta enjoyed a highly successful debut season in the premier class, scoring points in all but six races and grabbing five podiums across the year. The 20-year-old finished sixth in the standings, two points behind factory KTM rider Brad Binder.

Speaking with the Speedcafe TV YouTube channel, Acosta shared how it was ‘not easy to imagine’ being in MotoGP so quickly in his career, stating that KTM helped him ‘escape from hell’ with their offer.

“Imagine my career, when I was 16 before I arrived to the championship I signed one contract, maybe this contract was only for a few days,” he said.

“[It] was not easy to analyse how KTM came to, how to say, to help me to escape from hell, you know what I mean because at the end [it] was like [my] whole life working to [get] to the championship and from the day to the night go away.

“It’s true that the last four seasons was everything like flat out because my stage in Moto3 was quite fast and then Moto2 quite a bit also.

“Yeah, was not easy to imagine four years ago to arrive to MotoGP before being 20.”

Lewis Hamilton could save KTM from their financial woes

Heading into 2025, Acosta will move to the factory KTM team – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – alongside Binder. However, there is much uncertainty surrounding the company as the new season approaches.

KTM are in severe financial woes as they find themselves in self-administration under Austrian law with liabilities of up to £2.5bn.

Senior figures within KTM say they are not under immediate threat of going out of business and are confident they can make it to the grid next year, but admit there are concerns about the manufacturer’s future.

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is reportedly in advanced talks to become an investor at KTM, which will no doubt bring significant funds to the company.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari will help with the KTM deal as his relationship with Monster Energy – rivals of KTM’s main partners Red Bull – is due to end when he moves to the Maranello outfit.