Pedro Acosta is now addressing major KTM issue he was afraid to talk about amid doubts over his future

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Pedro Acosta appears to be deeply frustrated at KTM. His career has rather stagnated in his sophomore season after a dazzling breakthrough.

While a championship challenge was always unlikely, Acosta would naturally have been targeting a first victory this year after bagging five podiums and a pole position as a rookie. But he’s still yet to finish on the podium in either format.

While both contracts were negotiated by Albert Valera, Acosta’s contract doesn’t include an exit clause like Jorge Martin’s Aprilia deal. That means he may have to put up with KTM’s limitations until the end of 2026.

Eighth in the world championship, Acosta looks like a rider who’s ‘given up’ in his interviews. He may only be 21 years old, but he’s not content to wait for his moment to arrive.

Pedro Acosta has become more critical of KTM now that they’ve been saved

Shareholders Bajaj Auto recently stepped in to save KTM from bankruptcy. It’s unclear if they plan to stay in MotoGP long term, but the survival crisis appears to have been averted.

According to The Race’s Simon Patterson, this has freed up Acosta and his fellow riders to be more vocal in the media. They were previously hesitant to criticise the brand while the situation was so precarious.

But in an interview earlier this month, Acosta declared that KTM’s riders ‘need help from the factory’. Their frustration with the slow pace of development is now becoming clear.

KTM are trying to ‘placate’ their franchise rider by inviting him to the factory and showcasing what’s in the pipeline. But Patterson fears the strategy isn’t working.

“Weirdly, as the company has pulled itself out of financial difficulties and started to look a bit more stable and secure again, it’s almost like it’s allowed the riders to be a bit more confident in expressing some of the criticisms that they didn’t want to say while things were still bad, especially with regards to development and new parts coming in the pipeline,” he said.

“We’ve started to get a bit more of a feeling that things haven’t been great over this winter period and into the start of the season.

“KTM are still doing the thing that they’ve done all the way along to reassure their riders. Every few months, they ship all of them to Austria and bring them into the race department, saying ‘look how much new stuff there is for you guys, look how great everything’s going to be’.

“And that placates Acosta for a few weeks, until he starts getting moody and angsty again. There is obvious discontent there right now, more from him than anyone else.”

If Pedro Acosta is the next Marc Marquez, he may have found his Valentino Rossi

Acosta doesn’t like being called the next Marc Marquez, a nickname that undeniably creates pressure. But it also reflects how highly thought of he is in the MotoGP paddock.

There’s talk that Acosta could join Marquez at Ducati from 2027. VR46 have been strongly linked with a move for the Spaniard.

If he does make that move, he could reunite with Fermin Aldeguer, his childhood friend. Aldeguer is emerging as a future star at Ducati in an increasingly impressive rookie season.

Acosta and Aldeguer no longer get on after growing up as friends. They could feasibly be the new Marquez and Rossi, competing in a title fight underpinned by personal antipathy.