2nd place: KTM frontrunner Acosta continues his upward trajectory at Motegi

At the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, the celebrated Austrian winner Acosta remained in the background, and with good reason. Track conditions were far from ideal for a long time – Honda rider Nakagami was quickly sidelined with a broken collarbone. Finishing just under a second behind, the young Spaniard ended up in 10th place. Acosta was thus still the best rider on the KTM RC16.

This did not change during the crucial qualifying session either – though the field had closed in considerably. Pedro Acosta was right up there at the front throughout. Even before the final shootout began, the future Ducati Lenovo rider had significantly beaten his FP1 time. In the final session, Acosta even set the lap record for a time: 1:42.887 mins – no motorbike rider had ever lapped the 4,801-metre circuit any faster.

The fact that he ultimately finished second, sandwiched between the Marquez brothers (behind Alex and ahead of Marc), didn’t bother the Red Bull-KTM rider in the slightest: “I’m really very satisfied, because it seems we’ve found a very good base. Something we haven’t always managed here. In 2024 it was very good; we were right up there, but in 2025 things didn’t quite click. Now the feeling is more like it was back then – and I’m very happy with that.”

However, memories of 2025 are still holding Acosta back from getting too carried away. After a good qualifying session in which he finished 4th and a promising first half of the race, Acosta was overtaken in the final stages due to above-average tyre wear. However, based on what we’ve learnt so far, this has improved. Acosta: “It’s true that we’re currently having fewer problems. The bike is easier on the tyres.”

The latest race results in the long GP races speak for themselves: second in Aragon, third in Misano, winner at the Red Bull Ring. So aren’t thoughts of a title challenge starting to surface after all? The KTM rider is still playing it down: “I’m sticking to my original objective. Where possible, always finish in the top five and secure as many podium places as possible – that’s the only plan.”

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MotoGP World Championship

03.10.2026 - 01:35

Ahead of the races in Japan, Pedro Acosta trails championship leader Jorge Martin by 72 points – though he also faces further strong rivals in Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez. In Motegi, at any rate, the first foundation stone for a successful comeback was laid.