Pedro Acosta may be facing ‘rider safety issue’ on KTM bike after what happened in MotoGP testing

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Pedro Acosta has endured a challenging start to the 2025 MotoGP campaign. KTM are perhaps the biggest mystery after pre-season testing.

While Honda and Yamaha made huge strides forward, Marco Bezzecchi put Aprilia in a good position and Marc Marquez blitzed the field for Ducati, KTM encountered issues in Buriram.

Acosta did finish the test in a steady position with fourth – the top KTM rider. But the Austrian manufacturer were left scratching their heads with a major problem on the rear tyre.

KTM’s Michelin rubber was ‘absolutely chewed’ on Acosta and Brad Binder’s RC16s. Temperatures on the Buriram circuit make it difficult to manage the tyres – putting KTM in a challenging position for the Thailand Grand Prix.

There may not be an explanation from the manufacturer for the issue. KTM have taken the ‘unprecedented’ step of cancelling media scrums in the wake of the ongoing financial crisis.

Tech3 riders Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini are not subjected to these restrictions, but the latter has shared Acosta’s frustrations with the KTM bike. The Italian has stated the RC16 is not suited to his riding style.

Pedro Acosta’s rear tyre issue in Buriram may be a ‘rider safety issue’

The rear tyres on Acosta and Binder’s KTM’s were so worn that they were ‘stripped of the rubber down to the carcass’ according to journalist Simon Patterson.

Speaking on The Race MotoGP podcast, he says that it is almost a ‘rider safety issue’. Patterson highlighted that the issue must have come from the bike rather than the tyre itself.

“The race pace thing is really, pretty bad”, he said.

“And what we do know is that they both went out, both Binder and Acosta went out to do a race simulation in the afternoon on the final day and came back in with tyres that look like what we used to get at really, really fast road races like the North West 200.

“Whenever you ran a wet tyre and damp, drying conditions and the centre just burned out of the tyre. So whatever went wrong there, it is almost [a] rider safety issue because the tyre was basically stripped of the rubber down to the carcass.

“On both bikes, on both Binder and Acosta’s rear tyre. No one else had anything like this all weekend, all through any of testing so it has to be something that is coming from the bike.

“And it’s a bit of a worry, like what is going on?”

KTM face deadline for insolvency proceedings on February 25

KTM’s future in MotoGP is uncertain amid the desperate financial situation at the company. Reporting debts of around £2.5bn, their motorsport division is at risk of closing.

An intense restructuring plan has been put in place to keep the company’s doors open. KTM’s deadline to secure investment to satisfy its creditors of the plans moving forward is February 25.

Despite the media blackout, KTM’s riders have had their say on the current situation. Acosta interrupted an interviewer to state he had no doubts about the team.

The Spaniard will be looking to mount a challenge at the front against Ducati in 2025. But with KTM’s issues in testing, it could be a difficult start to the season for the 20-year-old.