Pedro Acosta says ‘we can’t forget’ how talented 35-podium MotoGP rider really is

Add as preferred source on Google

Pedro Acosta is the lead KTM rider in the championship after the first four races. He won’t be anywhere near satisfied with 11th place, but he’s managed to extract more from the RC16 than his stablemates.

Acosta crashed out of the Americas GP and the Argentina Sprint, and fell to the back of the field after an error in Thailand, but he’s still picked up 24 points. He finished eighth in Qatar last weekend.

That saw him leapfrog teammate Brad Binder (22 points), who finished 13th. Enea Bastianini completes the gaggle of KTM riders, having made a habit of Sunday fightbacks after poor qualifying results.

Bastianini’s Tech3 teammate Maverick Vinales has become somewhat detached, down in 18th on eight points. It’s statistically his poorest start to the season in the premier class.

Pedro Acosta says Maverick Vinales’ breakout KTM performance was ‘a matter of time’

Vinales’ points tally is arguably misleading. He finished a spectacular second place in Qatar, only to suffer a 16-second penalty for a tyre pressure breach.

Acosta was outraged at Vinales’ penalty, which demoted him all the way to 14th. It had looked like the first non-Ducati podium of the season.

Speaking on Nico Abad’s YouTube channel, Acosta said it was only a ‘matter of time’ before Top Gun delivered a breakout performance on the KTM. He denied Ducati a clean sweep in 2024 and won with a third different manufacturer (Aprilia).

Acosta says Vinales comes alive when the bike is in the optimum window. He’s collected 10 wins, 15 poles and 35 podiums from 184 races.

“We can’t forget the talent that Maverick has,” said Acosta. “He’s been the only one to win with three different brands. We know the talent he’s had since the 125s.

“It was just a matter of time before he had a great race like that. Everything went in his favour because he came out in front on Sunday, the bike was working well. When things are going well, the guy brings out the talent he has.”

What Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi said about Maverick Vinales’ Qatar heroics

Vinales is ‘super impatient’ to succeed at KTM, who have somewhat regressed at the start of 2025. However, the Austrian manufacturer are ‘super happy’ with their winter signing.

Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal admits he hasn’t slept since Qatar after the heartbreaking penalty. But he may arrive in Jerez with renewed optimism for the rest of the season.

When they unveiled their line-up, KTM suggested that they have the best strength in depth of any brand. They haven’t necessarily been able to show that so far with Vinales and Bastianini in an adaptation phase, but both are making progress.

Davide Tardozzi thoroughly enjoyed Vinales’ performance, even though he threatened to beat Marc Marquez. He thinks it’s ‘good for the championship’ to have the 30-year-old fighting at the front.