Pedro Acosta demands answers from KTM after Czech GP bike failures
The Spaniard's patience with KTM's reliability issues is wearing thin
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Pedro Acosta wants answers from the KTM factory after a MotoGP Czech Grand Prix weekend riddled with reliability issues.
The team's star rider was hit by technical problems on all three days at Brno, leading to the first weekend of the year on which he has failed to score any points.
On Friday, Acosta broke down during afternoon practice, and ended up wheeling his bike into the paddock via the back entrance. While this wasn't particularly costly as he made it into Q2 anyway, the races were a different story.
On Saturday, the 22-year-old battled with a stuck rear ride height device, which he said was the key factor in him crashing out of a battle for sixth place with Jorge Martin.
Then, on the last lap of Sunday's Czech Grand Prix, his RC16 cried enough when he was set for a decent points haul in fifth position. Acosta revealed afterwards that it was the same issue he had encountered on Friday.
"It was exactly the same problem that I had on Friday," he explained. "It just switched off.
"I [have reached the point where] I'm not even disappointed. I didn't do anything wrong. What is not in my hands, I cannot change. It is what it is.
"Now it's time for KTM to give some answers and try to analyse why we are having these reliability problems. Because I have had many already."
"I think now KTM should send everything to the factory, try to understand what is going on and give some answers because it's already many times that [technical problems have] happened."
A KTM reliability issue was at the centre of the season's most notorious incident, when Acosta's bike cut out at high speed at the Catalan Grand Prix in May, leading in turn to Alex Marquez's massive accident. However, Acosta told reporters at Brno that the Czech issues were not the same as the one at Barcelona.
Another 2026 KTM technical embarrassment came at Mugello, where Brad Binder had to park his broken factory bike on the pit straight. The unfortunately ironic spot was just metres away from the speed trap where Martin's Aprilia grabbed the all-time top speed record on the same weekend... snatching it from none other than the Austrian manufacturer.
Photos from Czech GP - Sunday
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
Czech GP - Sunday, in photos
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