Pedro Acosta gives himself 7/10 rating after first half of MotoGP 2026

Having previously branded 2025 a “wasted year”, Pedro Acosta says he can look back on the opening half of this year with much greater satisfaction

Pedro Acosta believes his personal performances in the first half of the 2026 MotoGP season merit a 7/10 rating.

Despite Aprilia’s impressive ascent and Ducati’s recovery in recent months, Acosta has held his own aboard the KTM, scoring one sprint win and three Sunday podiums across the opening 11 rounds.

This run of results has placed him seventh in the standings heading into the summer break, just 60 points behind the factory Aprilia of championship leader Jorge Martin.

While admitting that three retirements due to technical problems and fitness issues affected his final assessment, he said he has been pleased with how he has fared on the bike so far this year.

“It's the first time that I will put a high number. I would say seven for my performance,” Acosta said when asked to sum up the first part of the season.

“If you take a general picture of what happened during all the first laps [of each race], I would say a four. We were having many technical issues. I lost points in Barcelona, I lost points in Brno, I lost points in Assen.

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Mirco Lazzari GP / Getty Images

“For this, maybe we should be more in front, but it's what it is. Other than that, five-six [for the overall results]. Yeah, five.”

After coming of age in 2025, Acosta has continued to mature both on and off the track this season.

Although Tech3’s Enea Bastianini has occasionally challenged him within KTM’s ranks, he remains the benchmark within the Mattighofen brand, scoring almost as many points as Bastianini, Brad Binder and Maverick Vinales combined.

Asked whether he sees himself contending for the title in the second half of the year, Acosta dodged the question, saying: “I wasn't making many mistakes this first part of the season if you compare it to last year.

“Let's see if in this summer break we can understand why we were having these technical issues and understand what we have to solve.”

The 2026 season will be Acosta’s last at KTM, having agreed a deal to join Marc Marquez at Ducati next year with the hope of getting a more competitive bike.