- Pedro Acosta says he “wouldn’t have done well” on a Ducati in 2026 given the frustration he carried at KTM, per Crash.net.
- The 22-year-old joins Marc Marquez at the factory Ducati Lenovo Team in 2027, after winning his first MotoGP race in Austria on September 20.
- Acosta calls the next two years “the last chance” or “one of the last” for a young rider to learn from the seven-time MotoGP champion before he retires.
From a Rough 2025 to a Factory Ducati Garage
“Maybe I would have gotten on the bike, but with all the frustration I was carrying, I wouldn’t have done well.”
Pedro Acosta said that about a Ducati ride that was within reach this season. The 22-year-old held talks about a potential move to VR46 in a difficult 2025 campaign with KTM, and the chance to join the Ducati ranks a year early was there. He stayed instead and committed to the final year of his KTM contract. On September 20 he won the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, KTM’s home track, in his 56th MotoGP start.
Acosta sums up the sequence in seven words. “Things turned out the way they did.” He moves to the Ducati Lenovo Team for 2027 as the new garage partner of Marc Marquez, and he says the timing suits him.
Acosta often projects an irreverent image, yet he takes a low-key tone when he assesses this move. He explains why he would have struggled on a Ducati, and he does it as a race winner.
The Year That Tested Him
Acosta made his MotoGP debut in 2024 with the Tech3 satellite team. He took five podiums as a rookie and finished sixth in the championship, two points behind Brad Binder. He moved up to the factory KTM squad in 2025 and stood on the podium five times again. Hungary, Indonesia and Malaysia that year all ended in second place.
The wins did not come. The KTM RC16 trailed its rivals for performance, and the manufacturer faced financial trouble that Acosta described himself after the Austria win. “[KTM] were struggling a lot last year even to keep competing in the championship. And finally, how they came away from bankruptcy, and us recovering the potential of our bike was quite awesome.”
Acosta had become one of the most formidable riders on the grid and one of the most frustrated. The pattern held. By the time he reached Austria he had 15 premier-class podiums, eight of them runner-up finishes, and the record for the most MotoGP podiums without a victory. That is the season Acosta points to when he talks about the frustration he was carrying.
What Changed in 2026
The turn came in the results. Acosta puts it this way: “I started getting results, performing well, and making a difference compared to the other riders on my own brand.”
The numbers back him. Acosta took a maiden Sprint victory at the Buriram season opener. He added five podiums over the first 14 rounds of the year, with second places in Thailand, Hungary and Aragon. KTM recovered the potential of its bike after the summer break, and the factory put him closer to a win at Aragon and San Marino before he broke through in Austria.
Then came the Austrian weekend, and it nearly went the other way. On Saturday Acosta crashed while leading the Sprint and feared he had thrown away a golden opportunity. On Sunday morning he crashed again in warm-up and said he destroyed his racing bike. Mechanics from Tech3 helped repair it, and Acosta thanked them for it. “Without them we couldn’t have two bikes ready for the race.”
In the grand prix he passed championship leader Jorge Martin for the lead on lap nine and held it to the flag.
He celebrated by laying his RC16 on its side and rolling on the ground at the scene of his Sprint crash. “There was not another way to celebrate that victory, you know?!” he said. The venue carried its own meaning for him. “It’s more emotional to do it in KTM’s home and Red Bull’s house,” he said.
The win was the first for KTM in the premier class after Miguel Oliveira’s wet 2022 Thai Grand Prix victory. It was Acosta’s 17th career world championship victory, after six in Moto3 and 11 in Moto2, where he also took the title. He became the 17th Spanish rider to win a premier-class race, and the first rider outside Aprilia and Ducati to win a grand prix this season. “It was a long way to get here, but we will enjoy it for sure,” he said.
Why 2027 Is the Right Moment
Acosta’s own reading of the timeline is plain. “So, this opportunity came along when I was ready, especially after getting through that difficult period last year when I was feeling frustrated.”
He adds a second line: “I think that’s when I realised I was ready to take on a challenge like this.”
The challenge has a clear shape. Ducati confirmed on June 24 that Acosta will ride alongside Marquez for 2027 and 2028. In August he laid out a two-stage plan to match the two years. “Luckily, I’ll be there for at least two years. So I’ll have time to find my rhythm in the first year and see what happens in the second,” Acosta said.
He laid out that plan before his Austria win, and the tone was calm. “I have no idea what I’m going to find in that garage, but I don’t feel any pressure. Marc is in the final stretch of his career and I’m just starting mine,” Acosta said. Acosta is 22, which makes him 11 years younger than Marquez.
He added in August that he is grateful to Ducati for letting him be part of its project, with no MotoGP win to his name at that point. Austria changed that.
Learning From Marc Marquez
Acosta says his main goal in the new team is to understand how it works and how the people in it operate. After six years at KTM he knows that company well, and he says he knows nothing about how things will go at Ducati. His plan for the first stretch is practical. “So first of all, I’ll have to adapt and then see if I can gradually learn something from Marc.”
The learning carries a deadline in his mind. The next two years are “the last chance” or “one of the last” that a young rider will have to learn from Marquez before the champion retires. Marquez clinched the 2025 title at Motegi and is the reigning champion. He is also at home in the garage Acosta is about to enter. “Marc knows everyone at the factory, and I’ll need time to adapt to a completely Italian garage after spending six years at KTM,” Acosta said in August.
Acosta’s KTM crew chief expects a fight. Paul Trevathan has worked with Acosta from the rider’s step up to MotoGP in 2024, and he spoke after the Austrian Grand Prix about the pairing with Marquez. “It’s a massive challenge,” Trevathan said. “The fight starts already in the box.” He added that Marquez has “never had anybody like Acosta next to him, either.” His forecast for the Ducati garage: “It will be fireworks for you guys, I tell you.”
History offers one cautionary note. The last rider to move from KTM to become Marquez’s teammate was Pol Espargaro. He went winless and was back at KTM two seasons later, still without a win. Acosta arrives with a premier-class victory already on his record.
The swap runs both ways. Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio move to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2027, the team Acosta leaves behind.
What Comes Next
The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, round 19 of the world championship, runs from October 30 to November 1. Practice starts Friday, qualifying and the Sprint are on Saturday, and the grand prix is on Sunday.
His future teammate heads to Sepang leading the title chase. Marquez holds a ten-point lead over Martin after the Phillip Island Sprint. Martin was injured in a fall there and needs to pass a medical check on Thursday before he tries to ride. The Australian Grand Prix itself was cancelled on Sunday after poor visibility for the medical helicopter.
Acosta arrives at Sepang as a MotoGP race winner for the first time. After Malaysia the calendar lists Qatar and Portimao before the Valencia finale on November 27 to 29. Two days after the finale, on December 1, Acosta is scheduled to make his first appearance on the Ducati Desmosedici at the Valencia test, and his six-year partnership with KTM ends with the season.
The plan he laid out in August has two parts. Year one is for finding a rhythm. Year two is for seeing what happens.
