Pedro Acosta’s Ducati crew chief is already comparing him to Casey Stoner

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Pedro Acosta will work with Francesco Bagnaia’s current crew chief when he becomes a Ducati rider in 2027.

Ducati finally announced the signing of Acosta this week after the news leaked during the winter. Bagnaia’s move to Aprilia was also confirmed.

After initial uncertainty, it has emerged that Bagnaia’s crew chief will stay at Ducati, rather than following him to their Italian rivals.

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Cristian Gabarrini is seeing shades of Casey Stoner in Pedro Acosta

According to AS, one of the reasons Cristian Gabarrini isn’t following Bagnaia is that he ‘loves’ the prospect of working with Acosta.

He has apparently been telling people close to him that Acosta has ‘some qualities’ that remind him of Casey Stoner.

Ducati veteran Gabarrini worked with Stoner during his stint at Borgo Panigale between 2007 and 2011. The Australian was the team’s first MotoGP champion and won 23 races in red.

Acosta has been compared to Stoner before, partly because of his aggressive, old-school and occasionally spectacular riding style.

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Indeed, even Acosta has said he rides like Stoner, even if he hasn’t yet achieved the results needed to be placed in the same conversation.

Acosta holds the record for the most podiums without a win, though this largely reflects the limitations of his KTM machinery. He is in a different league to the other RC16 riders, having entered the Assen weekend sixth in the standings with his teammates between 12th and 23rd.

In Ducati’s statement announcing Acosta, Luigi Dall’Igna spoke of supporting the Spaniard on his ‘path to full maturity as a rider’. Gabarrini will be central to this task.

Indeed, the feeling is that, while Acosta is already one of the top riders on the grid, he is still capable of reaching another level.

Since he made his MotoGP debut in 2024 with Tech3, Acosta has been working with veteran Kiwi Paul Trevathan, a former colleague of Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.