believes the 2026 KTM MotoGP bike isn’t “that good” after slipping to seventh place within the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Following MotoGP’s last-minute determination to , Acosta opted for Michelin’s gentle rear tyre at the same time as the vast majority of the grid stayed on the extra sturdy medium compound.
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The technique paid off within the preliminary laps, serving to him climb from ninth on the grid to fourth within the early laps, forward of Aprilia’s and Gresini Ducati rival .
However the erstwhile championship chief started to lose floor about midway via the shortened race, finally dropping to seventh place on the end – greater than 10 seconds behind race winner (Aprilia).
Explaining his change to the gentle compound, Acosta stated: “The plan was to race on the medium tyre, as a result of if we have been going to wrestle, we would as properly wrestle like everybody else.
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“After I noticed that the race was shorter, I placed on a gentle tyre.
“My solely probability was to push laborious within the early laps, however then, round lap 11, we began having the identical issues we had on Friday.”
Pedro Acosta, Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing
Pedro Acosta, Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing
Whereas tyre put on contributed to Acosta’s worst Sunday end result because the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, the 21-year-old highlighted KTM’s straightline efficiency as the principle level of concern.
Whereas world champion was capable of clock speeds of over 346km/h in Sunday’s race, Acosta may solely attain 341.7km/h on the pace entice.
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“We’re missing a whole lot of pace on the straights, and there’s nothing we will do about that,” he stated.
“On the KTM, we use the entrance tyre lots, and on this monitor, it’s actually taken a toll. Between that and the dearth of pace, it’s very tough to plan a race when you possibly can’t cross.”
Throughout pre-season testing, Acosta was largely optimistic concerning the work KTM had put in over the winter to improve the RC16.
The Austrian producer additionally made a powerful begin to the brand new season at Buriram, with Acosta profitable the dash and ending second within the grand prix to take the lead within the championship.
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Nonetheless, after KTM’s kind took a tumble at Goiania final weekend, Acosta supplied a extra measured evaluation of the RC16’s place within the aggressive order.
“We’ll wrestle in Austin too. However we have now to attempt to get the bike to deal with properly within the corners with the setup. Then, if we lose pace on the straights, that’s out of my fingers,” he stated.
“Now we have to purpose for a efficiency someplace between Thailand and this race. The bike wasn’t that unhealthy final 12 months, neither is this 12 months’s bike that good.”
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Photographs from Brazil GP – SundayToprak Razgatlioglu, Pramac Racing
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Pedro Acosta, Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing
Pedro Acosta, Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing
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Pedro Acosta, Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing
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Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Group
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Enea Bastianini, Pink Bull KTM Tech 3
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Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Group, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
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Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
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