Pedro Acosta has made a bold career move in MotoGP. The young Spaniard turned down KTM's offer to stay and instead chose to join Ducati starting from the 2027 season. His reason? He wants to beat Marc Marquez with the same machinery.
The decision was revealed by KTM CEO Gottfried Neumeister at the Red Bull Ring. Neumeister admitted he personally tried to convince Acosta to stay. "It's not a secret, and Acosta would tell you the same, I tried personally to convince him to stay," he said.
However, Acosta had a strong principle. "I still have goosebumps, because he told me, 'Gottfried, it's not about a million more or less. We're seeing riders who are sitting on the best bike at the beginning of the season, just signing with other guys for money. This is for me not a racing spirit'," Neumeister recalled.
Acosta then made his point clear: "He simply said, 'I'm Spanish. Even if you have a better bike with the 850, and I'm winning on this one, I want to beat Marc with the same weapon'." Neumeister was left speechless. "Then, I mean, you're disarmed... This is such a great character, and I will always have really the best feelings when I see him, and we will fight together up until the very last day," he added.
Acosta has signed a two-year deal to join seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez at the factory Ducati team for the new 850cc/Pirelli era. A KTM rider since Moto3, Acosta gave the factory an early farewell gift by claiming his maiden premier-class victory at its home Red Bull Ring round, KTM's first win since 2022. Acosta is currently fourth in the world championship.
Neumeister also stressed that Acosta's performances cannot be separated from the work of KTM as a whole. "Last weekend at Misano I called Pit Beirer because I got so upset, people were saying, 'Look what Pedro is getting out of the bike!' It's not only Pedro... If the bike is not there, you're unable to deliver this, and you would be on the last row. So I want to really underline this constant effort. Yes, you can have a great rider, but it's a team which makes the difference," he emphasized.
With Acosta moving to Ducati and Brad Binder heading to WorldSBK, KTM will field an all-new factory line-up in 2027: Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio, both satellite Ducati race winners. "I'm very confident with the [2027] riders - they wanted to come to us, and we also chose them. I really believe in those riders," Neumeister said.
He added, "We need to bring security to the project. We will have to make also some changes. This is continuous work, which will lead us in the long run to be successful. It's not half-year, one year... We need to do it consistently. This is what I'm driving in the company: To constantly get better in execution, in data-driven analysis, we have to move in new ways."
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