Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta has accepted Marc Marquez’s challenge after the reigning world champion predicted the KTM star to be ‘definitely’ fighting for a championship once he is given a bike that is capable of doing so.
The 21-year-old has continued to impress during his third full campaign in the premier class, but has yet to claim his maiden Grand Prix victory.
Does Pedro Acosta have the right attitude, or is he too aggressive?
He has come close on numerous occasions, but the sub-optimal performance of his KTM prototype has often proved to be the deciding factor.
A move to the factory Ducati team is reportedly imminent for Acosta, where he is widely expected to be able to stretch his legs aboard machinery that will allow him to genuinely fight for wins at every race weekend.
Ahead of his rumoured partnership with the current KTM star at Ducati next year, the 33-year-old issued a verdict on his talents, with Marquez telling reporters that Acosta will ‘definitely’ be fighting for world titles in the future.
- READ MORE: MotoGP experts predict the Hungarian Grand Prix with Marc Marquez tipped for success at Balaton Park
Pedro Acosta responds to Marc Marquez’s world championship claim
During an interview with Diario AS ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, MotoGP journalist Mela Chercoles laid Marquez’s words from last week out to Acosta, to which he quickly accepted the challenge.
Is Pedro Acosta going to beat Marc Marquez at Ducati next year?
“I hope so, but that’s not going to change anything for me from Mugello to this week,” he replied. “I hope that day comes. I hope the day comes when I don’t have to make excuses for myself every Sunday.
“At the end of the day, that praise is all well and good, but it’s not going to change anything from last week to this one. I’m locked in my own psychological battle with myself.”
He then highlighted how he has been acting on KTM’s feedback to him that came over the winter break, with the biggest point of improvement regarding the number of crashes he suffered in 2025.
“I’m doing everything they asked of me: I’m not crashing, and I’m being much more consistent than last year,” he added.
“I saw last week that I had the same number of points as I did in 12 races last year, and now we’re on the seventh. You can’t say we’re not trying as hard as we can.”
Pedro Acosta thinks people are now ‘noticing’ that he has become better at settling for results
The lesser number of crashes can be attributed to Acosta becoming more mature in the premier class. During his interview with the Spanish outlet, he also highlighted how learning to accept that he can’t win every race has aided his overall consistency in the sport.
“This will help me in the end,” he continued. “In MotoGP, I think I’ve always had the pace, more or less, but I’ve never quite managed to finish the job, mainly because of crashes.
“And this year, the thing I think people are noticing most compared to last year is that I’m not crashing. I’ve more or less learnt to settle for sixth when there’s nothing more to be done.
“It might not seem like it, but you pick up points here and there… and by the end of the year you’ve got plenty. Hopefully, all those points will be worth something to me.”
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