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Dani Pedrosa knows why Pedro Acosta has such a big advantage over Brad Binder at KTM

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Pedro Acosta ended up being KTM’s best rider during the 2025 MotoGP season by quite some distance.

The Spaniard ended up finishing fourth in the MotoGP riders’ standings, matching the best finish by one of the team’s riders ever.

Brad Binder was the one and only individual to achieve the feat, doing so back in 2023, when he claimed five podiums.

This year, Acosta has put together the most impressive campaign by a KTM rider ever and is now on the hunt for his first victory in 2026.

Acosta thinks 2025 was a ‘wasted year of life’ on a bike that started the season a fair bit behind where it was expected to be.

Now, Marc Marquez should ‘fear’ Acosta, according to Oscar Haro, now that his team have managed to put a bike together that is capable of challenging for podiums.

READ MORE: KTM must keep Brad Binder in 2027 after witnessing a ‘lethal combination’ at the Portugal GP

KTM rider Pedro Acosta on track during practice for the 2025 MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images

Dani Pedrosa gives three reasons why Pedro Acosta is faster than Brad Binder at KTM

Dani Pedrosa is helping Pedro Acosta with his ‘weak points’, but he has plenty of time to address them at the age of 21 before he can be considered the finished product.

Acosta’s ‘turning point’ in 2025 was the in-season tests that helped to re-energise him and give him a much-needed lift.

He’s contracted with his current team through the end of 2026, and he’s going to be a hot commodity on the MotoGP rider market in the coming months.

Dani Pedrosa has offered three reasons why he’s so fast at KTM and been able to beat teammate Binder so comprehensively this year, including at every qualifying session.

“I think he is pushing the bike to the limit every metre,” he told TNT Sports. “Either it’s in entry [to the] corner, turning the bike on the exit, and basically, one of his strengths is that he goes out from FP1 and tries to go on the limit.

“He’s not checking out, ‘OK, what’s the situation, what’s the bike like on this track, and the tyres.’ He just goes, try to achieve the goal, which is staying in the top part of the standings, and then work throughout the weekend as much as he can. Even if you have some troubles with the bike.”

READ MORE: Pedro Acosta reacts to beating Brad Binder in every single MotoGP qualifying session so far in 2025

Pedro Acosta of KTM celebrates on the Malaysia podium
Photo by Stephen Blackberry/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The staggering numbers behind Pedro Acosta vs Brad Binder in 2025

Binder is in ‘uncomfortable’ talks with KTM as the team fear that he is no longer as dependable as he once was.

And they might be right to suspect that, given that he matched his worst result in the standings since his rookie campaign in 2025.

With 155 points, Acosta was three shy of doubling his teammate’s tally on exactly the same bike. By modern standards, that’s shocking.

KTM set Binder a ‘crucial’ target to score a podium now that they have been competing for them for a while. The big result could be exactly what he needs to gain some confidence back.