Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta secured his third premier class pole position today at the Catalan Grand Prix, but the Spaniard is adamant that his KTM engineers still have ‘a lot of work to do’.
Saturday’s qualifying session at the 2026 Catalan Grand Prix threw up a swathe of surprises as Pedro Acosta took his second pole position of the season.
For starters, the two leading title candidates are sorely out of position for both of the races this weekend. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the session without setting a competitive lap time, and Jorge Martin could only manage P9 at the chequered flag.
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KTM, on the other hand, had a mightily impressive morning. Not only did Acosta claim pole by nearly a quarter of a second, but Brad Binder, who is notoriously poor over a single-lap, put in a lap good enough for P8 on the Barcelona grid.
Still, the young Murcian rider isn’t completely satisfied with his package this weekend, and has outlined the area in which KTM still need to make strides.
- READ MORE: MotoGP qualifying results as Pedro Acosta scores Catalan GP pole and Francesco Bagnaia out in Q1
Pedro Acosta identifies where KTM still have ‘a lot of work to do’ after Barcelona pole
During his post-race comments to DAZN in parc ferme, Acosta pinpointed his RC16’s electronics as an area in which Mattighofen’s best need to improve on.
Speaking via Motosan, Acosta said, “It seems everything is coming together quite well, but we still have a lot of work to do on the electronics, because there are still things that aren’t working as we’d like.”
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Unfortunately, the Spaniard detailed how his electronics engineer isn’t present in the Barcelona paddock due to the fact that he recently became a father.
“But I’m happy,” he continued, before adding, “Even though my electronics engineer isn’t here, as he became a dad yesterday, so congratulations, Alessio.
“So, the whole team has thrown themselves into trying to lend a hand, even from Austria. So, I’m happy.”
Acosta also highlighted KTM’s joy at him securing yet another pole position in the premier class for them. It marks his third front-of-the-pack start in MotoGP, after scoring his first pole at the 2020 Japanese GP.
In terms of the rest of the weekend, the KTM star is hoping to remain as clean as possible to give himself the best chance of securing a maiden Grand Prix victory.
“Here it’s going to be vital to try and fight as cleanly as possible and, if not, at least set the record straight for tomorrow,” he said.
“You say a lot has happened since my first pole in Japan, but even more so since the first pole for an official KTM, which was taken by a certain Pol Espargaró back in 2020, so imagine the joy.
“They’re working really hard, they’re even trying other things for me, for what little remains of this regulation.”
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