Pedro Acosta secured his best result of the season for KTM at the French Grand Prix, but was still disappointed with the outcome of the race.
Acosta finished nearly 30 seconds behind eventual winner Johann Zarco, who blitzed the field and perfected his strategy on the way to a second MotoGP victory.
Two KTM riders featured in the top five for the first time this season, as Maverick Vinales performed well once again.
However, Acosta did have a potential podium at the Grand Prix of France stripped by Fermin Aldeguer with laps to go – a rider with whom he has a bit of history.
Acosta is ‘looking up to’ Vinales in an attempt to learn as much as he can from the 30-year-old and the experience he brings in 2025.
However, the Spaniard remains focused on the ‘most important’ thing KTM must solve if they want to be competitive in the future – their qualifying form.
READ MORE: Pedro Acosta makes ‘strange’ Marc Marquez claim after watching his start to the 2025 MotoGP season
Pedro Acosta blames ‘bad decision’ for missing the podium with KTM at the French Grand Prix
Acosta was defenceless when faced with a fast-charging Aldeguer at the end of the race. He had no tyres left to push back with.
But that was down to a mistake made before the race, when his team opted for a medium rear tyre. They didn’t provide enough grip.
Speaking to Motorsport Italia after the race, he admitted that the team threw away an opportunity for a better result on Sunday.
“The medium rear didn’t work at any point, it’s frustrating to see that for once we had a good chance and because of a bad decision we threw it away,” he said.
“It’s part of racing, it was difficult to stay on the bike, because I couldn’t go flat out at any point, in sixth gear with a bit of an angle you were sliding.
“A bad decision regarding the tyres, but the pace was there both yesterday and today, we have to be happy with this aspect.”
READ MORE: Maverick Vinales explains why Pedro Acosta has ‘more desire’ than any other rider at KTM
Why Pedro Acosta will still be pleased with his French Grand Prix result
Acosta’s French Grand Prix was his best result for seven races, and helped him to ninth in the riders’ standings ahead of Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura.
It’s another sign that after arriving in Europe, KTM are finally starting to make inroads on their rivals after a dismal start to the campaign.
Their superstar talent already had two podiums after three races with the satellite Tech3 team in 2024, but in 2025, he’s rostrum-less after six rounds.
Down at Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo retained faith in the team through difficult times and is now reaping the rewards.
A similar scenario may await Acosta, especially if he is patient enough to see how quick their bike is in 2026.
