Pedro Acosta has praised KTM’s off-season development for helping him move to the top of the MotoGP standings after the Thailand season opener.
The Spaniard won his Sprint race in the premier class on Saturday, before clinching second place in the grand prix.
Both results came after starting sixth on the grid, with the two races lifting him to the top of the MotoGP standings for the first time in his career.
Acosta reflected on how KTM has improved over the last 12 months, particularly after its financial crisis, which affected both its manufacturer sales and racing division.
“I remember last year here we were suffering to even be inside the top-10,” Acosta told MotoGP.com.
“KTM is making a really nice job. It’s true that they are 100 per cent pushing to give me [slight improvements] during the whole winter to try to survive a bit more in the races.
“It looks like we found something.
“It’s true that there’s still a long way to go, not every GP will be that nice like that one, but we are working quite okay in the box.
“For this, we have to keep calm and to keep in this way.”
Pedro Acosta’s 2026 MotoGP expectations are not a title battle
Despite leading the championship after the opening round, Acosta emphasised his calm approach and explained why staying there is not a realistic expectation.
His goal is to replicate his 2025 title finish with another top-five result, and the 21-year-old believes it’s about tempering expectations of the RC16’s potential.
“At the end, we worked super-fine all winter,” Acosta stated.
“He [crew chief Paul Trevathan] was pushing me a lot in video calls the whole winter to keep calm and to don’t think so much because maybe the expectation last year was quite high and was not helping.
“Also, things that are happening in life are making you more conscious of how life is going.
“I wanted to start the year in the same way that I finished the last one, trying to fight for this top-five.
“Even today, after the Warm Up that was not great, we said ‘Okay, boys, maybe it’s not the race that we dreamed [of], but we have to finish in this top-five that is our target’.
“We are making good races, not a lot of mistakes compared to last year. For this, it’s time to keep in this line.”
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