Marco Bezzecchi
KTM’s performance to start the season has been far from ideal, and they are yet to secure a top-six finish with any of their four riders.
Brad Binder suffered a mechanical failure at the Grand Prix of the Americas while riding comfortably inside the top six.
It was the best they had looked all season, with Pedro Acosta not far behind before he sustained a fall which took him out of the running for points.
Thankfully, Tech3’s Enea Bastianini would rescue something from the weekend for KTM with seventh, matching their best result of 2025, but they could have left with so much more.
Acosta may have signed a ‘pre-agreement’ to leave KTM amid speculation about his MotoGP future with the Austrian manufacturer.
The results have compounded Acosta’s ‘brutal’ KTM vibration issues, with a lot of work to do before they can compete for podiums and return to their form of old.
READ MORE: Francesco Guidotti makes Pedro Acosta prediction about KTM future amid MotoGP uncertainty
Honda may have to pay Pedro Acosta £4.3 million to sign him from KTM in 2026
As MotoGP heads to Qatar this week, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for teams who have struggled. The European leg of the campaign has nearly arrived.
But some may already be focused on their plans for 2026, like Honda, who may be able to capture Acosta’s signature for just five million euros according to Simon Patterson.
“It’s not going to be 25 million to buy Pedro out. When I say multiple millions, we’re probably looking five. This is the other thing with Pedro Acosta that you have to take into account here.
“If he signed for Honda in 27′, he has still got like 12 [or] 15 years of winning in Grand Prix racing ahead of him. He’s so young, that buying him now and he is going to be one of those guys like Rossi that rides until he is 40.
“Because he’s like that. He’s not going to be a Lorenzo that retires at 32 or a Casey that goes home at 27. This guy is here for the long haul because he just loves motorbike racing.”
After losing Marc Marquez to Ducati, he would be the perfect signing for a team who have made a lot of progress in their rebuild recently.
Acosta wouldn’t be hopping onto a hopeless bike. They’re competing for top-five finishes and may even more if they can continue to upgrade their machine.
Should Pedro Acosta be giving KTM more of a chance to improve their MotoGP bike?
It would be harsh of Acosta to leave his current team just one season after joining them. Their winter financial woes haven’t helped.
Their development may have been held back as a result and it has prevented them from hitting the ground running.
Still, they’re definitely in a better position than Yamaha and Aprilia, with the latter’s superstar rider returning from injury in Qatar in a bid to improve their fortunes.
It’s important to remember that Acosta has retired twice during the first three races – both his own fault. He needs to find a bit more consistency himself before things improve.
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