Pedro Acosta at Assen: KTM Reliability Woes and a Frustrating Sprint

• Two technical failures on Saturday morning, in FP2 and in qualifying
• Eighth on the grid, ninth in the sprint after a mistake at Turn 7
• First MotoGP start without front fork holeshot device

At the tenth round of the 2026 MotoGP season at the TT Circuit Assen, the focus at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing was less on sporting results than on technical reliability. Pedro Acosta was stopped twice by a defect on Saturday morning, once in the second free practice session and once in qualifying. With an ongoing heatwave over the Netherlands, the Spaniard had barely any track time before lining up for the sprint from eighth on the grid. The incidents are the latest in a series of reliability issues that have plagued KTM for several race weekends and could also affect the remainder of the season.

What Happened to Pedro Acosta on Saturday in Assen?

Pedro Acosta stopped twice with technical problems on Saturday morning, leaving him only eighth on the grid for the sprint. Right at the start of the second free practice session, he had to park his RC16 beside the track. He then tackled the subsequent Q2 on his spare bike, but that machine also failed – curiously at almost the same spot after the fast right-hander at Meeuwenmeer. The fact that both incidents were so similar pointed early on to an electronic rather than a mechanical cause. The lost preparation time clearly weighed on Acosta after the sprint: “It creates a lot of problems when you’re not ready for the race.”

How Does KTM Explain the Defects on the RC16?

According to team manager Aki Ajo, a sensor triggered the motorcycle’s fail-safe mode when riding over the curbs, causing the RC16 to shut down. A MotoGP motorcycle operates with numerous sensors, some of which serve safety purposes. When riding over the kerbs, values were reached that had never occurred before, causing the system to cut out. “There is nothing wrong with the motorcycle and the rider did everything right, but we had to react properly, and now the problem is solved,” Ajo explained before the sprint. The Finn dismissed any connection with the earlier failure in Barcelona: “I want to underline that we had a different problem in Barcelona.” Acosta himself described one of the issues as the throttle staying open despite being closed, which he classified as a safety concern.

The Sprint: Recovery Ride After an Early Mistake

In the 13-lap sprint, Acosta initially got a good start but lost eighth place to Fabio Quartararo. On the second lap, he ran wide at Turn 7 and dropped to 15th. He then worked his way forward with several overtaking moves and took the chequered flag in ninth, one position worse than his grid slot. He identified the lack of preparation as the main reason for the mistake: “When you can only do six timed laps between FP2 and qualifying combined, there’s hardly any opportunity to prepare properly, and mistakes like mine happen.” The sprint victory went to Raul Fernandez ahead of Ai Ogura and Fabio Di Giannantonio. The best KTM rider was Enea Bastianini in eighth, while Brad Binder and Maverick Viñales finished 14th and 16th.

Why Does Acosta Criticise the Start Without the Holeshot Device?

Acosta considers starting without the holeshot device on the front fork more dangerous because the motorcycle is more prone to wheelies without it. It was his first MotoGP start without the now-banned launch aid, a change he was less able to prepare for than his rivals due to the limited practice mileage. “I think without the device the start is even more dangerous than before, because the motorcycle wheelies much more. They should reconsider that,” said the two-time world champion. An apology from the team does little to help him in the current situation either: “That doesn’t help us. What we need is for the problem to be fixed and not happen again!”

How Does Assen Fit Into the KTM Reliability Issues?

The problems at Assen are the latest in a series of failures at KTM dating back to the Grand Prix of Barcelona. There, a technical problem on Acosta’s machine caused a consequential collision with Alex Marquez. A week before Assen, the Spaniard retired on the final lap at Brno while running fifth because the ride-height device had jammed. Even then, he demanded clear consequences: “KTM now needs to send everything back to the factory and try to find out what’s going on. They need to provide answers, because this has happened far too many times now.” In his typical fashion, he quipped about the latest failure in Assen: “No, no, that was something new again. Every day brings a surprise.” Engine development has been frozen since the start of 2025 for all manufacturers except Yamaha, meaning the base specification of the RC16 remains unchanged. As a manufacturer in Concession Tier B, each rider has eight engines available; exceeding this limit results in penalties such as a pit lane start with a five-second delay. Reports suggest that KTM has already detuned the engines, with a proper fix not expected until the German GP at the Sachsenring in July.

What’s Next for Pedro Acosta?

Sunday’s grand prix over 26 laps was expected to provide more clarity, but Acosta was cautious ahead of the race. In the championship, he slipped back to fifth after the sprint, with the standings led by Marco Bezzecchi on 186 points ahead of Jorge Martin on 177 and Di Giannantonio on 164. On Friday, Acosta had broken the Aprilia dominance with third place and just 0.187 seconds behind Bezzecchi, while also pointing out the unstable behaviour of the RC16 in high-speed corners: “Right now it would be hairy and difficult to ride 26 laps like this.” His season target remains a top-five finish in the championship. From 2027, the 22-year-old will switch to Ducati alongside Marc Marquez anyway. Despite the breakdowns, Ajo remained optimistic and hopes for a solid race.

Frequently Asked Questions