Pedro Acosta sends KTM to the top in Barcelona despite “bittersweet” feeling

May 15, 2026

Pedro Acosta described his performance in Catalan Grand Prix Practice as “bittersweet” despite topping the times on what was a strong day for KTM.

Acosta led the way in a closely-fought FP session at Barcelona aboard the factory RC16, beating last year’s winner Alex Marquez by just 0.018s. His team-mate Brad Binder underlined KTM’s pace by going third-quickest, while Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini was also running strongly until a flurry of late improvements shuffled him down to 11th.

The result marked a significant improvement in Acosta’s form after he struggled to 10th in Jerez and could only manage fifth at last weekend’s French GP. He hasn’t been on the podium since the US GP in March, while Bastianini has also appeared increasingly close to him in recent races.

But the 21-year-old wasn’t completely satisfied with how things turned out on Friday, saying his finishing position did not fully reflect how comfortable he felt on the bike.

“There are still many things to clear inside the box,” he said. “It’s a bit bittersweet because we were fast and the position is quite OK, but I don’t feel that fast.

“We have to work a lot this afternoon to be quite clear in which direction to take tomorrow.”

The typical low-grip conditions in Barcelona were compounded by low temperatures, which contributed to several riders – including Binder – crashing in practice.

Electronics play a big role in optimising the bike to such conditions, and this was precisely the area where Acosta felt he struggled the most on Friday.

“It’s more on the electronic side,” he said. “Chassis-wise, the bike is working quite nice, but my normal electronic guy is not here this weekend. He’s becoming a father. This makes the work more like steps. Normally, everything is more flowing.

“But I’m quite happy to see that all KTM is behind me. Many guys who are normally in the trailer or behind the box came today to help.”

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Aprilia strengthened its grip on the 2026 MotoGP season with a historic 1-2-3 result at Le Mans last Sunday, as Jorge Martin claimed his first grand prix win on the RS-GP.

Martin could not make it directly into Q2 after crashing in both practice sessions, but Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez ended up just 0.078s adrift in fourth, with factory rider Marco Bezzecchi also not far behind in fifth.

Acosta believes several riders could be in the fray on Saturday as he downplayed his chances in Barcelona.

“Martin will make it to Q2, that’s for sure. Then there’s Raul Fernandez, who’s very fast. And Alex [Marquez], who already won here last year.

“It’s true that the position is very good, but I don’t feel as good as I have in other grands prix.”