Marco Bezzecchi
Thomas Luthi is confident that Pedro Acosta can find the consistency needed to fight for the 2026 MotoGP title, as KTM are “capable” of designing a title-contending bike.
Acosta leads the riders’ standings after the first round of the 2026 MotoGP season thanks to his Sprint Race victory in Buriram and P2 finish in the Thailand Grand Prix. The 21-year-old is seven points clear of Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi atop the standings, with 32 points in his tally.
Bezzecchi won the Thailand GP with a 5.543-second gap to Acosta, who was the only non-Aprilia rider to finish in the top five. But Bezzecchi paid the price for crashing out of the lead of the Buriram Sprint, which Acosta won after Ducati rival Marc Marquez received a penalty.
Acosta did not “feel like a winner” after the Buriram Sprint, having only inherited the lead at the final corner on the final lap due to Marquez’s penalty. The stewards ordered Marquez to drop a place as he forced Acosta wide while passing him for the lead on the penultimate lap.
Do you consider Pedro Acosta a MotoGP winner?
Thomas Luthi backs Pedro Acosta to find the ‘necessary consistency’ to fight for the MotoGP title
Acosta was not expected to emerge as a genuine title threat in 2026, with Bezzecchi viewed as the most likely non-Ducati rider to challenge Marquez for the crown. But Luthi believes it will not be impossible for Acosta to fight for the title, as KTM will give it everything they can.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pedro Acosta from net worth to girlfriend
Long-time Moto2 rider Luthi is also confident that Acosta can find the consistency he needs to fight for the MotoGP title. Acosta is already a Moto3 and Moto2 champion, but his Sprint win in Thailand marked his first race victory of any kind in the premier class after 42 rounds.
Luthi told Motorsport-Magazin: “Acosta is currently the championship leader. Of course, there are still 21 more weekends where a lot can happen. Now, it is important to keep working hard and stay focused, but KTM will certainly do that.
“I believe it’s possible. KTM are capable of it. KTM have been working on development with full force from the very beginning, and that has not changed to this day.
“Therefore, they deserve to achieve good results. Especially in combination with Acosta, KTM are very strong. I trust him to find the necessary consistency this year.”
Pedro Acosta already started to show stronger consistency at the end of 2025
Are people overacting to Ducati’s lack of performance at one round?
Acosta has shown flashes of consistency throughout his world championship career to date. But the performance of the KTM RC16 has often prevented Acosta from securing consistent results since making his MotoGP debut riding for satellite team Tech3 in the 2024 campaign.
The most consistent that Acosta has been in MotoGP to date came between rounds 12 and 15 plus rounds 18 and 22 last year. He secured two podiums amid a run of four consecutive top-four finishes and later secured three podiums amid a run of five consecutive top-fives.
His streak of four consecutive top-four finishes last season was almost five in a row, as well. Acosta was forced to retire from the 2025 San Marino Grand Prix after his chain broke while running in P4 at Misano. He also came P17 in Japan due to KTM’s tyre wear issues last year.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
