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Pedro Acosta, the prodigious Spanish rider, asserts that abandoning his early-season championship aspirations proved pivotal in transforming his 2025 MotoGP campaign. This strategic shift in mindset enabled him to emerge as a consistent podium contender, culminating in a strong fourth-place finish in the overall standings. His remarkable improvement saw him dramatically increase his points tally in the latter half of the season, cementing his reputation as one of the grid’s most promising talents.
Acosta’s sophomore year in MotoGP began with considerable challenges, as an underdeveloped bike and KTM’s financial constraints initially hampered his performance. Despite these early setbacks, the young rider demonstrated significant resilience, progressively improving his results throughout the demanding season. His journey from an aspiring contender to a regular fixture at the sharp end of the grid underscores a profound personal evolution.
The turning point for Acosta began to manifest at the French Grand Prix, where he first broke into the top five. This momentum continued into the Czech Grand Prix, securing a commendable third-place finish. Following the crucial summer break, his form surged dramatically, coinciding with the introduction of a new aerodynamic package for his RC16 machine, which provided a tangible performance boost.
Beyond technical enhancements, Acosta credits an internal transformation for his upturn in fortunes. He exhibited greater maturity off-track and notably reduced the number of crashes that had plagued his rookie season. This newfound mental fortitude, he insists, played a more significant role in his mid-season progress than any substantial mechanical gains to his motorcycle.
Speaking in Valencia, Acosta candidly acknowledged that while specific technical updates offered some assistance, the bike’s fundamental characteristics remained largely unchanged. “To be honest, the bike didn’t improve a lot because we don’t change so much,” he stated. “The fairing was helping, the swingarm was helping a bit, but we saw that we still have many problems, that the tyre consumption [is high] and that it is quite difficult to be competitive at the beginning of the race because we don’t have grip.”
He directly linked his mental adjustment to maximizing his potential. “For this, it’s true that at the moment that I start to forget about the championship dream, I start to just try to get 100% of my package,” Acosta explained. This revised approach allowed him to focus on extracting the utmost from his current machinery, leading to more consistent top-five finishes and podium challenges, particularly in sprint races.
His personal growth and enhanced connection with the bike were central to this success. “Maybe my mind is the one that grew the most,” he reflected, despite feeling better acquainted with his machine. He maintained that significant mechanical overhauls were not the primary driver, noting that aside from an arm pump surgery after the Jerez test, the bike saw only minor, non-transformative adjustments.
Quantifying his dramatic improvement, Acosta amassed a mere 99 points during the initial 11 rounds of the 2025 season, placing him ninth in the championship. However, the latter half witnessed an extraordinary surge, with the 21-year-old adding an impressive 208 points to his tally, solidifying his position as one of the most consistent performers on the demanding MotoGP grid.
Acosta reiterated the necessity of resetting his initial objectives, acknowledging KTM’s ongoing challenge to bridge the gap to front-running manufacturers like Ducati and Aprilia. He lamented the early phase of the season, describing it as “one to forget” due to struggles in understanding the bike’s behaviour. A “clearing of mind” and a shift in targets towards consistency were crucial.
Despite some fluctuations post-summer break, Acosta’s performance remained largely within the top five, frequently securing podiums. He concluded by expressing satisfaction with the consistency achieved, even while recognising that KTM still faced considerable work to match the competitiveness of Aprilia’s significant improvements and Ducati’s continued dominance as the benchmark manufacturer in MotoGP.
