‘Discombobulated’ Pedro Acosta is taking action after what he’s seen KTM give one teammate

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MotoGP heads to Austria after its summer break, which arguably came at a bad time for Pedro Acosta after he penned KTM’s first podium of 2025 in the Czech Grand Prix.

The 2025 MotoGP season has not yielded a lot for KTM to celebrate, with the Austrian crew only fourth in the teams’ standings and 402 points behind champions-elect Ducati. Acosta is also the top KTM in the riders’ standings with P7, and he trails Marc Marquez by 257 points.

But KTM now go home for the Austrian GP, having had the summer break to study why they were more competitive at Brno than in the previous 12 rounds. Acosta earned P3 in the first Czech GP since 2020, along with finishing the Brno Sprint in P2 just 0.798s behind Marquez.

KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini took P3 in the Brno Sprint, too, and he was in the mix to earn a podium in the Czech GP before crashing out of P4. No KTM rider had made a podium before heading to Brno, but Maverick Vinales lost his P2 in the Qatar GP over illegal tyre pressures.

The attention KTM give Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales has ‘discombobulated’ Pedro Acosta

Bastianini has often struggled to adapt to the KTM RC16 since the 27-year-old joined Tech3 at the start of this year. Vinales, on the other hand, quickly established a rhythm on the bike after the 30-year-old also joined Tech3 in 2025 on a factory KTM deal after leaving Aprilia.

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

Tech3 chief Herve Poncharal has even claimed that Vinales is the “benchmark” at KTM after helping the “lost” Acosta recover from a difficult start to this season. The factory KTM racer did not finish higher than P7 until the French GP in round six after he moved up from Tech3.

Now, MotoMatters reports that the attention that KTM have given Vinales for his results for Tech3 so far this year has even left Acosta ‘much discombobulated’. So, Acosta has resorted to pointing out at ‘every opportunity’ that he is the best KTM rider in 2025, and not Vinales.

Acosta has nearly scored double the number of points that Vinales has sealed this year, with the two Spaniards sitting seventh and 11th in the riders’ standings with 124 and 69 points to date. Works KTM rider Brad Binder sits 12th with 68 points, while Bastianini is 17th with 49.

Pedro Acosta is the top KTM rider in qualifying, Sprints, Grands Prix and points in 2025

Acosta has regularly let it be known this term that he is not happy with the competitiveness of the KTM RC16 compared to their rivals’ machinery. While he may be the top KTM rider in the 2025 championship, the 21-year-old ranks behind five Ducati riders and one Aprilia pilot.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Maverick Vinales from career stats to net worth

But Acosta is still the rider, more often than not, leading KTM’s efforts. The 2021 Moto3 and 2023 Moto2 champion leads Vinales, Binder and Bastianini in terms of their best Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying results and finishes, as well as in terms of averages for every category.

So, it is hardly surprising if KTM showering Tech3 rider Vinales with praise puts Vinales’ nose out. And there would be no better round for Acosta to prove he is the No1 rider in the KTM project than at the Red Bull Ring, where he finished the 2024 Austrian GP in P13 with Tech3.