Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta has just completed the best race weekend of his MotoGP career so far, leading Neil Hodgson to draw a comparison between the KTM star and premier class legend, Valentino Rossi.
Over MotoGP’s winter break, the discussion regarding when Pedro Acosta would secure his first premier class victory split many fans of the premier class.
The Spaniard certainly wasted no time in putting the speculation to bed, with Acosta taking victory at the Buriram Sprint race on the opening weekend of the 2026 MotoGP season.
Of course, a win in the shorter format can’t be put on the same pedestal as a Grand Prix victory, but now that the young Murcian has a taste of the success that can be achieved on KTM’s new bike, he can take a lot more confidence into future races.
That being said, Acosta’s talent is clearly far superior to his fellow KTM stablemates, and Neil Hodgson has even gone as far as comparing the 21-year-old to one of the all-time greats: Valentino Rossi.
- READ MORE: MotoGP race result as Marco Bezzecchi wins Thailand Grand Prix and Marc Marquez suffers puncture
Who was your rider of the day for the Thailand Grand Prix? 🏍️
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Neil Hodgson thinks Pedro Acosta has now replicated Valentino Rossi’s ‘dark arts of racing’
During TNT Sports’ live coverage of the Thailand Grand Prix, Hodgson couldn’t help but applaud Acosta’s racecraft after putting one over on Marc Marquez in the hunt for the podium positions.
The KTM star started from sixth on the grid in the Grand Prix and wasted no time in carving his way through the riders in front of him before joining Marquez’s battle with Jorge Martin for P3.
“Textbook, close, aggressive racing,” said Hodgson after Acosta finally managed to make the move stick on his rival.
He then added, “The comment from Pedro Acosta after the Sepang test was, ‘I can feel the front end of the bike more, no crashes. I can feel the limit.’
“And actually, from that point, he’s still yet to crash this year, is Pedro Acosta. I’m not trying to tempt fate, of course, but that’s like the dark arts of racing, feeling that front tyre, or, I should say, feeling where the limit is.
“When watching Pedro Acosta yesterday, you could see he could clearly do that. People used to ask me a lot, ‘What makes Valentino Rossi so good?’ And I’d say, ‘The feeling he’s got for a front tyre.’ He can literally live on the limit; he can do 25 laps on the limit.”
- READ MORE: KTM boss states Pedro Acosta ‘deserved the win’ in Thailand MotoGP Sprint amid penalty controversy
Pedro Acosta leads the championship for the first time in his career after his P2 in Thailand. Will he be a genuine contender this season?
Let us know in the comments below!
KTM are right to prioritise Pedro Acosta following Enea Bastianini’s comments
Acosta’s impressive showing in Thailand comes after Enea Bastianini urged KTM to look beyond prioritising the Spaniard for the 2026 MotoGP campaign.
However, it’s clear to see why the Austrian constructor has put all of their faith in the 21-year-old. Brad Binder was the closest KTM to Acosta at the chequered flag, with the South African securing a solid P7 finish in the season-opener.
Binder congratulated Acosta for his efforts after his Sprint race feat, and looks to have found some confidence in the RC16 in comparison to his efforts last year.
Bastianini, on the other hand, finished outside of the top 10 in P12, nearly 20 seconds adrift of Acosta in the final classification.
His Tech3 teammate, Maverick Vinales, ended up taking the chequered flag just outside of the points-paying positions in 16th.
Jorge Lorenzo is understood to have a bet on with Acosta’s agent over the finishing positions of their respective riders in the MotoGP standings. The three-time premier class title-winner may have to pay up if things continue the way they have started.
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