‘Last year’s KTM wasn’t that bad, and this year’s isn’t that good either’

Pedro Acosta believes the 2026 KTM MotoGP bike isn’t “that good” after slipping to seventh place in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Following MotoGP’s last-minute decision to shorten the Goiania race to 23 laps due to ‘track degradation’, Acosta opted for Michelin’s soft rear tyre even as the majority of the grid stayed on the more durable medium compound.

The strategy paid off in the initial laps, helping him climb from ninth on the grid to fourth in the early laps, ahead of Aprilia’s Jorge Martin and Gresini Ducati rival Alex Marquez.

But the erstwhile championship leader began to lose ground about halfway through the shortened race, eventually dropping to seventh place at the finish – more than 10 seconds behind race winner Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia).

Explaining his switch to the soft compound, Acosta said: “The plan was to race on the medium tyre, because if we were going to struggle, we might as well struggle like everyone else.

“When I saw that the race was shorter, I put on a soft tyre.

“My only chance was to push hard in the early laps, but then, around lap 11, we started having the same problems we had on Friday.”

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

While tyre wear contributed to Acosta’s worst Sunday result since the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, the 21-year-old highlighted KTM’s straightline performance as the main point of concern.

While world champion Marc Marquez was able to clock speeds of over 346km/h in Sunday’s race, Acosta could only reach 341.7km/h at the speed trap.

“We’re lacking a lot of speed on the straights, and there’s nothing we can do about that,” he said.

“On the KTM, we use the front tyre a lot, and on this track, it’s really taken a toll. Between that and the lack of speed, it’s very difficult to plan a race when you can’t pass.”

During pre-season testing, Acosta was largely positive about the work KTM had put in over the winter to upgrade the RC16.

The Austrian manufacturer also made an impressive start to the new season at Buriram, with Acosta winning the sprint and finishing second in the grand prix to take the lead in the championship.

However, after KTM’s form took a tumble at Goiania last weekend, Acosta offered a more measured assessment of the RC16’s position in the competitive order.

“We’ll struggle in Austin too. But we have to try to get the bike to handle well in the corners with the setup. Then, if we lose speed on the straights, that’s out of my hands,” he said.

“We have to aim for a performance somewhere between Thailand and this race. The bike wasn’t that bad last year, nor is this year’s bike that good.”