News Summary
- Pedro Acosta finished third at Misano to claim his second consecutive MotoGP Grand Prix podium.
- Acosta said KTM “changed the whole bike completely” overnight after he struggled badly under braking on Saturday.
- The Spaniard closed on Marc and Álex Márquez late on before a front-end lock at Turn 7 convinced him to settle for third.
Pedro Acosta praised KTM’s overnight transformation at Misano after recovering from a difficult Saturday to finish third in the San Marino GP, his second consecutive MotoGP Grand Prix podium.
Acosta had finished only sixth in the Sprint and admitted KTM’s performance left him unsure whether a podium would even be possible on Sunday. The team responded with major set-up changes to the RC16, allowing the Spaniard to fight his way forward and eventually challenge Marc and Álex Márquez.
“We had a really tough weekend,” Acosta said. “It’s not so normal that I struggle as much as I did in the braking points. But we turned the weekend around by making a good job last night.”
“We have to be happy. We battled with Ducatis, with Aprilias.”
The scale of KTM’s changes was significant. Asked what had improved between Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix, Acosta made clear that it was far more than a minor adjustment.
“We changed the whole bike completely,” he said. “I was struggling a lot yesterday, and like I say, this was a track where I had expected the bike should work much better, because last year we had really good pace.”
“But anyway, the pace at the end of the race was quite good, as also in Aragón.”
That pace became evident in the closing stages. After moving past Jorge Martín for third, Acosta began closing on the Márquez brothers and set his fastest lap on lap 23 of 27.
He reduced Marc Márquez’s advantage to less than 2 seconds before a moment at Turn 7 persuaded him that chasing a first MotoGP victory was no longer worth the risk.
“It was going to be tough and at the end, in Turn 7, I locked the front, and that was exactly the moment that I said: ‘Okay, now it’s time to chill a bit’,” Acosta explained.
“I had good gap with Aldeguer behind and said P3 will be more than enough for how tough this weekend was.”
Acosta regarded the performance as a more significant step than his second place at Aragón, despite finishing one position lower at Misano.
“Even if I finished third, it was much better race overall than Aragón,” he said.
The KTM rider has also been encouraged by the RC16’s progress on worn tyres, an area he considers particularly important before MotoGP heads towards the flyaway rounds later in the season.
Acosta is now fifth in the Riders’ Championship with 209 points, 65 behind new championship leader Marc Márquez.
MotoGP returns from September 18-20 for the Austrian GP at Spielberg, a particularly important weekend for KTM at its home race.
FAQ
What did KTM change on Pedro Acosta’s bike at Misano?
Acosta said KTM “changed the whole bike completely” after he struggled particularly under braking during Saturday’s Sprint. The changes produced a major improvement in his Sunday race pace.
Why did Acosta stop chasing Marc and Álex Márquez?
Acosta locked the front at Turn 7 while closing on the Márquez brothers. With a comfortable advantage over Fermín Aldeguer behind, he decided the risk was no longer worthwhile and settled for third.
Where is Pedro Acosta in the 2026 MotoGP standings?
Acosta is fifth with 209 points, 65 behind championship leader Marc Márquez after the San Marino GP.
