Neil Hodgson is spot on with his Pedro Acosta post-season testing comments after Valencia GP

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Pedro Acosta was unable to make it four podiums in five races towards the end of the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.

Despite a strong battle with Fabio Di Giannantonio, the VR46 had too much in the tank and eased to the finish in third. It was a familiar story for Acosta.

Too many times this year has his KTM bike run out of steam at the end of a race, leaving him to defend from his competitors.

He never looked like competing for the win at the Valencia Grand Prix, but he now gets to head to testing next week to get to work on 2026.

Acosta has been told to chase a ‘golden ticket’ Honda deal for 2027, but he might want to see how his current manufacturer prepares for the new regulations first.

Marc Marquez thinks Acosta can win the 2026 title, and it’s not a crazy projection, given the rate of improvement from KTM.

READ MORE: What Pit Beirer privately revealed about KTM’s future in MotoGP amid Pedro Acosta exit rumours

Neil Hodgson’s view that KTM ‘needs’ to give Pedro Acosta ‘something’ is spot-on

Dani Pedrosa is helping Acosta improve his ‘weak points’, and at the age of 21, there’s still plenty of room for improvement for the Spaniard.

He ended up finishing fourth in the riders’ standings and had a magnificent second half of the season, after originally struggling a bit at the factory outfit.

Acosta’s talents are unique and going to be very in-demand. The majority of the grid would like to have him in their team, and with his contract expiring next year, the MotoGP rider market is braced for plenty of activity.

He wants to be challenging for titles, and subsequently, KTM needs to prove to him that they can build a bike good enough to compete. He’s still awaiting his first premier class victory.

Neil Hodgson’s assessment that KTM ‘needs’ to be showing Acosta ‘something’ at the Valencia test is just right. If they don’t, he could be convinced to join a rival.

“Acosta needs something on Tuesday,” he said on TNT Sports. “He needs to see something. It’s a big day for Pedro Acosta, Tuesday.”

READ MORE: Pedro Acosta has now addressed one of Ducati’s concerns about pairing him with Marc Marquez

Where must KTM improve to stand a chance of retaining Pedro Acosta for 2027?

Acosta beat Binder in every qualifying session in 2025, and one-lap pace wasn’t necessarily a weakness of his.

It was tyre wear and pace at the end of races that hurt him. If his bike had had an extra few laps in it, he might have been able to win his first race.

So, KTM need to make sure that their next iteration is smoother under traction, and doesn’t burn up its rubber too quickly.

There’s a possibility that the team ends up with an all-new line-up for 2027 if Brad Binder continues to struggle, too.