Acosta says Motegi exposed KTM tire mismatch
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 4, 2026
Acosta’s Motegi weekend
Pedro Acosta said the Japanese MotoGP weekend at Motegi exposed a KTM tire mismatch, after he started from the front row and still finished seventh. He said he got a poor launch, lost positions early and spent much of the race fighting just outside the top five. Acosta called the weekend “strange” and said the bike did not seem to match well with the tires. He said KTM lacked enough grip in braking and acceleration, even though the bike felt normal in the corners. The problem was not a simple fix, either. Acosta said the tire change alone did not solve it and KTM would go through the data because it was the first time he had felt that way. He said the result was not a disaster, but he made clear something beyond the tire swap went wrong.
KTM’s tire problem
The tire issue stood out even more because Enea Bastianini delivered a strong result on the other KTM. Bastianini finished fourth, used hard Michelin tires and came close to the podium. Acosta said that ride would help KTM sort out what went wrong before Mandalika. Acosta also said he expected KTM to try the medium tire on Sunday, since the medium felt good in practice and he still believed the team had a chance to compete. That belief mattered because he saw enough in the practice sessions to think the weekend could still turn. The data review was the next step before Mandalika.
Sprint crash fallout
Acosta also had to deal with the aftermath of Alex Marquez’s first-lap sprint crash at Motegi, which took out Acosta and Fabio di Giannantonio. Stewards ruled that Alex Marquez was at fault and gave him a double long-lap penalty for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. Acosta said the crash cost him a likely podium finish and an opportunity to close the championship gap to Marco Bezzecchi. Acosta said he had not received an apology from Alex Marquez and had not spoken to him after the incident. He was blunt about how the crash felt from his side. “In six years, I’ve never knocked anyone down,” he said. He said he did not expect the tire degradation he saw in the sprint. Even with those issues, Acosta said he remained fourth in the World Championship, 90 points behind Marc Marquez. That left his title picture, but the Motegi weekend made clear that KTM still has work to do before the next race.
