The opening half of the 2025 MotoGP season was robust on the whole for KTM, but it surely ended with two podium finishes in Czechia courtesy of Pedro Acosta that now function “further motivation” for the Austrian manufacturing unit, in accordance Aki Ajo.
Acosta started the season as a first-year rider within the manufacturing unit KTM crew, however was upstaged to start with by Maverick Vinales within the Tech3 crew who took top-six finishes whereas Pedro Acosta flirted with a attainable swap to Ducati for 2026 – a chance which subsided earlier than the Czech MotoGP.
However it was Acosta who took KTM’s first podium finishes of the season in Brno, ending second within the Dash after which third within the grand prix in Czechia.
Crimson Bull KTM Manufacturing unit Racing Crew Supervisor Aki Ajo thinks that Acosta’s performances in Brno have been necessary for KTM, and have been a results of the Spanish rider’s work to raised handle expectations within the first half of his second season in MotoGP – and his first in a manufacturing unit crew.
“For certain it’s further motivation for all of us, however after all particularly for the riders, particularly when the winter time was slightly bit robust for us for a lot of causes,” Ajo advised MotoGP.com’s Gear Up preview present forward of the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I feel, for instance in Pedro’s [Acosta] case, the expectations originally of the season have been fairly excessive. After final yr, his first season in MotoGP, it was fairly excessive.
“Then it was possibly turning slightly bit round after which, I don’t say destructive, but it surely was some disappointment, after which the expectations weren’t excessive sufficient in a single second.
“Now we discover, for me, like a stability for this, and I see – already earlier than the summer time break however particularly now – that Pedro additionally cleared his head quite a bit and tried to maintain all the main target and work so simple as attainable.”
Ajo added that it was anticipated that Acosta would encounter issues in 2025, and that the Spaniard has has been efficient in his course of to resolve these.
“I all the time used to say that once we construct a venture, once we construct a rider, profession, and every thing, that if we don’t face the issues, if we don’t go deep, how can we develop,” Ajo stated.
“This we are able to see with many riders, with many tasks, and I feel in Pedro’s case it’s slightly bit the identical.
“Final yr was going very well, it was a very nice begin for him. However, we, individuals with expertise, noticed that ‘Hey, the place are the issues coming?’
“With out the issues, with out studying from issues, I feel we can’t be actually robust.
“So, I feel this was a fairly fast course of within the final months from Pedro, he did it very properly.”
