Pedro Acosta’s KTM crew chief Paul Trevathan says his rider can still improve following his first MotoGP win on Sunday – but dares not think about just how much potential lies untapped.
It was an emotional win for Trevathan and Acosta, who described the New Zealander as a father figure in the aftermath of the triumph at Spielberg.
They have worked together since Acosta stepped up to the factory team in 2025, enduring a major slump early in the European season last year, attempts by Acosta to leave the team and KTM’s destabilising financial problems.
Surviving some of those past troubles will have fed into the strength of Trevathan’s feeling when interviewed following the podium celebrations.
So when asked about Acosta’s scope for improvement following his long-awaited breakthrough victory, Trevathan said the question frightened him.
“It’s a scary question,” responded the KTM stalwart, who has worked with the likes of Miguel Oliveira, Mika Kallio and Pol Espargaro. “Because at the moment I couldn’t tell you, you know?
“The way the guy is learning, the way the guy is adapting… I mean, he had a month off in summer and he came back again [on] another level, you know? He can put something in his subconscious mind that brings something new to the game.
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“I’ve seen great riders do this, but they normally take a winter, you know what I mean? But to do a reset like he did in the summer and then come back and ride and push us in the way he pushed us to make things better, I mean, it’s unbelievable.
“So, yeah, I can’t answer your question but I tell you he’s still going this way.”
Another aspect that contributed to the intense emotion after the race was Acosta having fallen off in both the Saturday sprint and the morning warm-up.
Asked about how Acosta reset following the sprint, whilst carrying the weight of expectation on KTM’s home ground and the knowledge that opportunities to beat Ducati and Aprilia are rare, the man from Dunedin kept up the praise.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a good question and it’s really, really difficult,” he added. “We’ve been fast all weekend. This was clear from the moment he got on the track.
“You ask the questions after what happened yesterday. ‘Are you too confident? Was it the nerves? Was it the fact we’re at home?’ All these things come to your mind and you have to talk about it.
“But I think we could really understand what happened yesterday. He was really angry at himself. Something small at these speeds makes such a big difference. He hasn’t been hard to work with this week.
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“He was upset for about an hour yesterday, but on himself. The first thing he told us was, ‘This is on me’. But, you know, those great champions have a way of putting things behind them in a beautiful way. So, it’s been an emotional weekend, tough weekend.
“Also, crashing in the warm-up didn’t help either! But somehow, he could put that behind him also. But yeah, what I asked him to do today, he did. So, I’m really pumped with the way he rode.”
Acosta winning the race against time to register a grand prix win before ending his long association with KTM to move to Ducati next season carries extra poignancy for Trevathan.
That’s because his time as a crew chief is also expected to end after 2026. He is understood to be stepping up into a different role within KTM for next year.
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