Pedro ‘The Shark’ Acosta is MotoGP’s most exciting young talent. The dazzling KTM rider talks about fighting the Ducati hordes, trying to use his brain and getting bored of speaking to journalists
It’s the oldest trick in the MotoGP journo’s book. Whenever you sit down to interview a rider you start with the easy questions: flatter his ego, or, in pit-lane speak, “tickle his balls”. Only later do you hit him with the hard questions, so if he decides he’s had enough of you and storms out, you’ve already got enough to write.
So that’s how I start this interview with MotoGP’s latest sensation, Pedro ‘The Shark’ Acosta. We’re talking in KTM’s paddock office, and I’ve scribbled some numbers in my notebook, which lies on the table between us.
Everyone knows that last year’s MotoGP championship was a Ducati walkover. The Bologna brand won 19 of the 20 GPs and filled 53 of 60 podium places. Who filled the other seven? One went to longtime KTM rider Brad Binder, one to Maverick Vinales and the other five to rookie Acosta – who was still a teenager at the start of his premier-class apprenticeship.
So I start off by asking the former Moto2 and Moto3 world champ what he thinks about being MotoGP’s lone force fighting the Ducati hordes, half expecting him to stretch back in his chair, looking pleased with himself, because many riders would do exactly that. Instead, his right index finger stabs at the podium numbers written in my notebook.
“Okay, it’s true that I was the KTM guy with more podiums,” he says. “But we are not looking for this (points at his podium total), we are looking for this (points at Ducati’s total). There’s a way to go…”
In other words, Acosta hasn’t let his ego get the better of him and knows he is still climbing the mountain. He’s not interested in looking back and enjoying the view. Save that for when he reaches the top.
And you won’t find anyone in MotoGP pit lane who doesn’t think Acosta will make it all the way to the top, because he has a remarkable talent to ride a motorcycle, more so than any MotoGP newcomer since Marc Marquez. He’s also super-sharp and has a great attitude, with that certain swagger that identifies a true gunslinger.
So what does he think is his greatest strength? When I asked him that in 2023, shortly before he wrapped up the Moto2 title, he replied: “Big balls. Big balls! From the moment I arrived here I tried to show people that I’m not afraid of anyone. So, big balls, why not?”
This time he gives a different answer, because MotoGP is a very different game: ballistic horsepower, 360km/h and NASA-like electronics!
“In MotoGP you need more brain, that’s clear,” he says. “But it’s not about brain, it’s not about talent, it’s not about balls, it’s a combination of many things.”
So what’s most important among those many things? “Keep calm,” Acosta states. “But this isn’t something I learned last season, I learned it from a young age but forgot along the way.
“I’ve been talking a lot with Aki (Ajo, Red Bull KTM’s new team manager, who was also Acosta’s boss in his Moto2 and Moto3 days) and this is exactly what I was missing sometimes last season – keep calm. Keep calm, man! I mean, racing is simple if we keep it simple. Maybe there’ll arrive one moment when it will get so difficult for my mind, but now I take it easy: having fun, riding and enjoying riding. We need to keep it calm.
“During the winter I was focused on some specific things to become more competitive in races: try to use the head a bit more because last year I sometimes put the whole weekend in the bin just because I made a bad qualifying, or lost a big amount of points just for stupid crashes. So… try to be a bit more calm, use the brain.”
MotoGP riders may pump themselves up like cage fighters before a race – because they are basically going into war – but they also need a super-chilled inner serenity, otherwise the pressure will burn their brains.
Modern MotoGP is a high-pressure cooker – from the racetrack to the garage and from journalist debriefs to sponsor meet-and-greets. Everyone wants a piece of you, especially in the garage, where you’re surrounded by data analysists, tyre analysists, electronics strategists and aerodynamicists who have you spending hours each day gazing at squiggly lines on computer monitors, trying to divine another 100th of a second from you and your ride.
Then you’re out there in qualifying – the riskiest moment of a MotoGP weekend – laying your life on the line at every corner, because one-tenth can make the difference between second and fourth row on the grid, between glory and despair on Sunday afternoon.
Acosta knows all this, but his hugely experienced crew chief Paul Trevathan knows it even better. “Qualifying is basically about going over the limit,” says Trevathan. “Many riders tell me that a qualifying lap is like losing one of their lives.”
Acosta and Trevathan have built a strong bond since they started working together at the end of 2023. Their relationship is reminiscent of Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess, a partnership that won seven MotoGP crowns.
“Paul isn’t just an engineer with a computer,” Acosta says. “I really love how he manages all the crew, how he manages my head, how he manages everything around me and how we’ve made our group super-close, so it’s not possible to put shit between us.”
Acosta may have moved from the independent Tech 3 squad to KTM’s factory team this year, but he gelled so well with his 2024 crew that he’s kept the same key players: “Keeping the same people around you is super-important. Paul and my whole team is my bubble – even when we’re not at races we spend time together.”
Trevathan’s job is to suck up the pressure around Acosta and let him do his thing.
“I’m not really a technical rider,” says Acosta. “I just like to get on the bike and go flat-out and that’s it!”
This year he needs to make sure he doesn’t repeat mistakes he made last year: two podiums at the first three GPs, then crashing too much and going almost half the season before more podiums.
The 2025 KTM RC16 doesn’t look very different to last year’s but some important upgrades include a tuned mass damper in the seat hump to reduce tyre chatter.
“Last year the bike was often shaking (vibrating), so we were losing speed, so fixing this is our priority number one,” Acosta says.
In 2024, Acosta also had to learn how to deal with media pressure. Originally he was always full of quips and jokes. Now, not so much.
“Many times journalists ask the same questions! In the end everything has a limit, so I ran out of jokes. I have to say the media is never fun. It isn’t easy to say the correct things, to not make a mess and to be politically correct.”
This year Acosta may once again be the only rider who can take it to Ducati, but perhaps his real focus has to be on the longer term.
His current KTM deal runs to the end of 2027, but perhaps his management saw into a crystal ball when they negotiated the contract mid last season, including clauses that will allow him to quit KTM. No doubt about it, MotoGP 100 per cent needs Pedro Acosta on a 100 per cent competitive motorcycle.
