Beirer: KTM running low on time to secure Acosta for 2027

KTM’s MotoGP boss Pit Beirer has admitted that the Austrian manufacturer has very little time left to convince its star rider Pedro Acosta to remain with it beyond 2026.

Acosta is still looking for his first premier class victory as his second season in MotoGP draws to a close. KTM has struggled to provide him with a consistently competitive machine in his sophomore year, although the RC16’s form has picked up since the summer break.

Many see this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix as an opportunity for the Spaniard to break his duck, and Acosta delivered on those expectations with a solid third-fastest time in practice on Friday.

But KTM motorsport director Beirer knows it will take more than a fast Friday – Acosta trailed only Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia on the opening day at Portimao – for his most talented rider to think about extending his contract beyond next season.

Acosta’s services would be coveted by any other MotoGP manufacturer – and Beirer knows it.

Asked by Dorna if there was a risk that KTM would not have Acosta on its bike in 2027, Beirer replied: “I think that’s very clear… he’s not here to make the maximum money, he’s here to win.

“I feel we still have a little bit of time, not too much left, to prove that we are the right partners for him.”

Pit Beirer, Motorsport Director of KTM

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Beirer was optimistic that KTM’s 2025 recovery story since “a difficult winter” will help win Acosta’s ongoing loyalty to a manufacturer that showed faith in him from a young age.

“Just look where we were at the beginning of the year – we’ve come a long way to be already very competitive. The outlook to the 2027 bike engine is already up and running and very promising. So I feel we have a lot to show, not just stories and hope.

“We had a difficult winter. It was like almost a two-month standstill. And in MotoGP, if you stand still, this speed train is just moving without you.

“That we had to pick up what we lost last winter was really difficult. But I’m so thankful the team and the people we have at home in the factory didn’t give up and that they showed that we can come back. And from here, [just] another small step is needed and we are in the game.

“And then we are also in the game to talk to Pedro for the future. That’s our target, of course. We want to keep this boy with us.”

All of this assumes that KTM continues with its MotoGP project in 2027. Despite Beirer’s comments about early technical plans, that is by no means certain at this stage. The company as a whole has had a turbulent year, with enormous cuts to its workforce the most recent chapter.