Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta has got his MotoGP crashes ‘under control’ according to the KTM technical director.
Heading into the 2026 MotoGP season, Pedro Acosta had a lot to prove, as after two years, he had not tasted victory in the premier class.
Questions had begun to be asked about Acosta’s true talent as he had not matched his junior class achievements during his year with Tech3 and the KTM Factory Racing squad.
The major point that had been raised about Acosta was his tendency to crash whilst in positive positions during races, mainly his crash in the Japanese Grand Prix when he was leading the way.
However, after the opening race of the season there have been signs of improvement from the 21-year-old.
Finish the sentence: Pedro Acosta will win ___ MotoGP championships in his career
Pedro Acosta has ‘everything under control’ in 2026
In an interview with Speedweek, the KTM technical director Sebastian Risse discussed how Acosta’s lack of crashes has allowed him to improve.
At the end of the 2025 season, Acosta had the fifth most falls in MotoGP as he had crashed 21 times during the year, but he has not crashed during 2026.
The Spaniard did not crash during pre-season testing in Sepang and Buriram, and went on to not suffer a crash across the weekend at the opening round of the season in Thailand.
KTM technical director Sebastian Risse said, “In all aspects surrounding the bike it was Pedro who made it happen. He’s a key factor. And not just since Buriram. Pedro was already very strong and had the right attitude at the end of last year.
“On top of that, he had excellent pre-season training. The fact that he didn’t crash once during the entire testing phase shouldn’t be underestimated. Pedro currently has everything under control.”
Do you consider Pedro Acosta a MotoGP winner?
Does Pedro Acosta’s first MotoGP Sprint Race win class as a win?
In the opening Grand Prix weekend of the season at the Thailand Grand Prix, Acosta claimed victory on Saturday as he won the opening Sprint Race of the year.
However, there have been discussions about whether Acosta’s victory in the Sprint Race at the Chang International Circuit counts as a proper MotoGP race win.
Most notable in the discussion about Acosta’s Sprint Race win was four-time World Superbike champion, Carl Fogarty, when Fogarty was discussing whether Acosta’s win counts, he said, “No, it shouldn’t count as a GP win, and neither should the WSBK sprint race count as one.”
Ahead of the opening round of the 2026 season, there had been suggestions that Acosta would join Ducati in 2027 with reports stating he has signed a two-year deal. However, KTM have not given up retaining Acosta at the end of 2026.
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