Pedro Acosta has no interest in becoming too close to his MotoGP rivals, and the KTM rider believes that distance gives him an advantage when the visor comes down.
Acosta has revealed that he has never considered any fellow rider a close friend in the paddock. Rather than seeing that as a problem, the Spaniard believes it allows him to race without emotional ties and make aggressive overtaking moves when necessary.
“Everyone is here to achieve the same dream,” Acosta explained. “It is quite difficult to have an honest relationship with somebody who wants exactly the same as you.”
The 22-year-old said he prefers to maintain some distance from his rivals because he does not want personal relationships to influence his decisions on track.
“I’m happy because like this I can have no feelings with anyone. I don’t really care who I try to overtake or in what way I try to overtake,” he said.
Acosta believes MotoGP could benefit from the intense rivalries that defined previous generations. He pointed to famous battles involving Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau, as well as Mick Doohan and Alex Criville, as examples of relationships that were far from friendly.
For Acosta, that tension was part of what made those eras of MotoGP so compelling.
Source: Alpine Stars
“Maybe this is also the spicy part that we are missing now in MotoGP,” he said.
His comments come as Acosta prepares for a major change in his own career. After six seasons with KTM, the Spaniard will leave the manufacturer at the end of 2026 and join the factory Ducati team next year.
He will share the Ducati garage with reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez, creating one of the most anticipated rider pairings on the 2027 grid.
Acosta, however, insists he is not intimidated by the challenge. He sees Marquez as being at a different stage of his career and believes he will have time to adapt to his new surroundings after spending six years within the KTM system.
The move to Ducati also gives Acosta an opportunity to prove himself on what is currently considered the benchmark machinery. Despite winning Moto3 and Moto2 titles early in his career, he is still searching for his first MotoGP victory.
Acosta currently sits seventh in the 2026 championship and recently finished fifth at the British Grand Prix, continuing a more competitive season after a difficult start affected by KTM’s technical problems.
His approach has also matured. Acosta admitted that he previously placed too much pressure on himself whenever he failed to win, but has since learned to recognise when a top-five finish is a strong result.
Now, with his KTM chapter nearing its end and a high-profile Ducati move on the horizon, Acosta appears determined to keep one thing unchanged: his uncompromising attitude when racing his rivals.
For the Spaniard, friendship can wait until after the chequered flag. On track, there is only one goal, and everyone else is chasing it too.
