KTM-Pedro Acosta ‘bad publicity’, ‘like Honda did with Marc Marquez’

KTM’s former team boss has warned them against keeping Pedro Acosta “at all costs”.

The future of the talented Acosta is intriguing every manufacturer in the MotoGP paddock.

Ducati, Honda and Yamaha have all been mentioned as suitors although Acosta still remains committed to KTM.

Valentino Rossi spoke about Acosta for the first time at this weekend’s Qatar MotoGP amid links to his VR46 team.

VR46 could theoretically put Acosta on a factory-spec Ducati, the best bike in MotoGP.

The rumours have ramped up after KTM’s difficult start to the 2025 season, with their status as Ducati’s closest challengers long gone.

Ex-KTM boss considers Pedro Acosta's MotoGP future

Francesco Guidotti, who left his role as team boss at the end of last year, is unsure if Acosta will follow him out of the exit door.

“I don’t know how much he will want to,” Guidotti told GPOne.

“He might even think, after doing so much together, that he doesn’t want it to be his limit.

“Kind of like Honda did with Marc, keeping a rider at all costs can be bad publicity.

“If he crashes in every race, he’s not happy, he can’t talk bad about the bike but he can’t talk good about it either. It’s not a good situation.”

Marquez’s situation ended with an alliance with Ducati which has restored him to the front of the MotoGP grid.

The lure of the top machinery in the sport could be difficult for any rider to turn down.

There have been murmurs that Acosta’s insistence about not chasing money is a subtle hint to attract Ducati, not Honda.

“In my opinion his manager is already working to put him in a position to get out of that quagmire,” Guidotti said.

“The terms of the contract could also provide for an exit, we’ll see.

“In the next couple of months there will definitely be something at the company level for KTM and that’s what could unlock the situation.

“There could be a chance for Pedro, and he certainly won’t lack the opportunities.

“He is a guy who has shown he can stay up front and it is a shame for the show not to have him.

“However he is young, he has time, but to do two years of purgatory, for a rider who has won two world championships in three years, is a shame. You clip his wings.”