Pedro Acosta looked set to be at the centre of this year’s MotoGP rider market. But then Jorge Martin activated a release clause in his Aprilia contract.
Officially, Acosta is under contract at KTM until the end of 2026. However, the Martin bombshell has proven that MotoGP deals aren’t always what they seem.
KTM reportedly missed a deadline to ‘lock in’ Acosta after the Americas GP. It may have been contingent on their performances.
Acosta can be bought out of his contract for a fee of just over £4m. This has put rival manufacturers on alert.
Another superstar rider is available, though, after Martin’s camp opened a contractual exit door. They aren’t committed to leaving yet, but it’s hard to see the relationship recovering from this extraordinary manoeuvre.
Pedro Acosta is ‘intent’ on joining Ducati, opening Honda door for Jorge Martin
Until recently, Honda were strongly linked with Acosta. Those rumours had cooled, and now the rider market landscape is starting to become clear.
Speaking on the Paddock Pass podcast, journalist Neil Morrison revealed that, according to two paddock sources, Honda turned to Martin when Acosta showed little interest in joining. The Shark of Mazarron shares a manager with the new Aprilia signing (Albert Valera).
With Ducati his preference, VR46 are now in pole position to sign Acosta, even if funding the move may be difficult. He could have inadvertently triggered the Martin eruption.
“Just one other thing to add to this,” Morrison said. “There were two people that told me that this situation has potentially arisen because Honda were talking to Pedro Acosta and Acosta didn’t seem that interested.
“Acosta seems to be pretty intent on riding for Ducati next year. I heard that from two separate people.
“Potentially this whole situation has arisen as a result of that. If Acosta is in talks with Honda, that’s not an option for Martin and this situation probably doesn’t come out at all.”
Jorge Martin’s camp were ‘insistent’ on one thing in Aprilia negotiations
Earlier in the podcast, Morrison explained how Martin’s exit clause came about. The Spaniard’s camp are bound to be criticised for potentially abandoning their new team so soon.
However, as his management sees it, they were taking the necessary precautions. And with a grid-worst 53 constructors’ points on the board after six rounds, they clearly haven’t met expectations.
“It’s quite normal to have a clause like this inserted into the contract,” Morrison said.
“I’ve heard that Jorge’s camp was very insistent when they signed with Aprilia last year that a clause be inserted that would basically give Jorge autonomy after a period of the first season to decide whether he was convinced by Aprilia’s commitment, by their competitiveness, whether they had the chops essentially to provide him with a set-up capable of fighting for the world championship.
“I also heard from Jorge’s camp that any manager that wouldn’t have inserted that clause into a contract for a potential world champion would really not be doing their job properly at all.”
Motorcycle legend Giacomo Agostini has questioned why Martin would want to join Honda. Johann Zarco won a wet French GP for LCR last weekend, but that’s their only podium since the 2023 season.
