Pedro Acosta told he lacks one ‘shining’ talent Valentino Rossi possessed during his MotoGP career

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Pedro Acosta is starting to see positive changes at KTM after a frustrating start to the 2025 MotoGP season.

The Spaniard had struggled with the RC16 in the opening races, with multiple crashes hampering Acosta. The KTM riders could not find the right balance with the bike, leading them to go their separate ways with setups.

Maverick Vinales has been the ‘benchmark’ for Acosta in 2025 as the Tech3 rider was the first to find consistency on the machine. His fellow compatriot has begun to adopt his findings, and it has given his results a boost.

Acosta’s pace has been unquestionable this season, but accidents have stopped him in his tracks. The 21-year-old is now starting to fight the Ducatis more regularly for top results, finally grabbing his first podium of 2025 at Brno with P3.

Acosta has adopted a different attitude over the last few races, as he has appeared much more positive about his chances and his situation. He has been heavily critical of KTM in 2025 amid their financial crisis, but while results are improving, he still has a way to go to reach the top.

Pedro Acosta told he lacks the ‘shining intellect’ Valentino Rossi had in MotoGP

Being only 21 years old, Acosta has a long career ahead of him in MotoGP, but he is in an era where there is so much to understand, especially with debriefs and the development of the bike. Mat Oxley says he lacks the ‘shining intellect’ that Valentino Rossi possessed during his career.

“When we speak to them in debriefs, the riders or interviews, are they giving it their all when they’re in there with their crew chief and their technicians. They’re all trying to tell the right things and so on,” he said via The Oxley Bom Podcast.

“I mean they may not be when they speak to us, some of them don’t really care about coming to see the press, some do.

“But I don’t see that kind of fire, you know that shining intellect that I do when you speak to Valentino Rossi, you know, when you speak to Marc Marquez and a few others.

“So you could be right there and it’s so important to have that intellect to be able to get that far. You can only get so far without it.

“You’ve got to be very, very, very clever and it becomes more like that all the time as racing gets more and more complicated. There’s so many different things to try and keep under control now, to consider and so on.

“So many engineers around you, and yeah, not easy at all to keep focused and to keep calm.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Pedro Acosta from net worth to girlfriend

Valentino Rossi is an admirer of Pedro Acosta for his VR46 team

The KTM rider is determined to become a world champion in MotoGP and follow in the footsteps of his idols. Acosta has a ‘good’ relationship with Rossi; the pair could work together in the near future.

Acosta has been linked with Rossi’s VR46 team throughout 2025, with the MotoGP legend being a keen admirer of the KTM star. While a move is not possible for 2026 as the 21-year-old has no way out of his contract, VR46 could sign Acosta for 2027.

The rumours have led to some tension between those within the VR46 team. Fabio Di Giannantonio criticised Acosta after he appeared to pose in front of the team’s sponsor wall at Assen.

Acosta brushed off Diggia’s comments, telling him to see the light in the situation. However, Di Giannantonio told Acosta to ‘show respect’ to KTM as rumours continue to circulate about his future.