Acosta: Ducati Move Needs Time, Not Hype
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 19, 2026
Acosta’s Ducati move
Pedro Acosta is heading to Ducati’s factory team on a multi-year deal, and he wants the change treated as a long-term project, not a quick verdict. Before his first Ducati test, he said he felt “no pressure” and called the switch “a new chapter.” The KTM rider has spent his entire world championship career with the team and is leaving after six years, a stretch that produced 2 Moto3 titles and 1 Moto2 championship before he added 1 Sprint win and 13 grand prix podiums in MotoGP. Acosta said the move will take time because he must adapt to the “Italian box” after years in one system. He said the timing gives him at least 2 seasons to settle in and build rhythm before he judges the second year. He also thanked Davide Tardozzi and Ducati for believing in him despite his lack of a Grand Prix victory.
Acosta and Marquez
The switch would put Acosta in rare company. He would be the first rider since Jorge Lorenzo to join Ducati’s official team directly without first racing for a satellite squad. Marc Marquez followed a different route, spending a season at Gresini before moving up to Ducati’s factory team. Acosta and Marquez have already had several on-track clashes this season, and Acosta spoke about the veteran in plain terms. He said Marquez is in the final stages of his career while he is just starting his own. Marquez, a seven-time MotoGP champion, has never lost a teammate battle, a record that adds more weight to Acosta’s next move. Acosta did not cast the change as a rivalry test. He called it a major challenge that should be handled calmly, with no short-term expectations and no rush to measure the result after one or two outings. That message matched his broader view of the Ducati step. He wants time, structure and patience before anyone judges how the partnership takes shape.
Acosta on rivalries
Acosta also used the moment to talk about MotoGP’s wider landscape. He said he agreed with Lorenzo that the class is missing the kind of intense rivalries that once drove some of the championship’s biggest storylines. In his view, too many riders are close enough in pace to avoid real feuds, and the shared fight for the same title makes it hard to build a sincere relationship with a direct competitor. He said many riders are too close to one another to develop real rivalries and that it is difficult to build a genuine bond with someone chasing the same championship goals. Acosta said he may be “the guy who doesn’t follow the prevailing trend.” The comment fits the way he has framed the Ducati move, with patience instead of hype and a clear focus on the work ahead. He is not promising instant success, and he is not setting a deadline for judgment. He is presenting the transfer as a process, one that will depend on adaptation, trust and time. That stance gives the Ducati deal its tone. It is a major step for a rider still early in his career, and Acosta wants the spotlight kept on the work rather than the noise around it.
