Pedro Acosta celebrates podium finish at Sepang: ‘We’re making the most of it’

Pedro Acosta shines at Sepang with a second-place finish – according to the Spaniard, there was no beating Marc Marquez – Now he has his sights set on third place in the World Championship

Pedro Acosta once again secured top results for KTM at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. On Saturday, the Spaniard won the Sprint. It was his second Sprint victory following the season opener in Thailand.

In the Grand Prix, Acosta was stuck in third place behind Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) for the first half of the race. On the tenth lap, he pulled off the decisive overtaking manoeuvre at Turn 9.

By that point, Marc Marquez (Ducati) already had a 1.8-second lead. Although Acosta was unable to catch the championship leader, he rode safely home to second place.

“Yes, it really was a good weekend,” said the 22-year-old happily. It was already his seventh podium finish this season. “It’s true that I struggled with the front tyre throughout the weekend.”

“It wasn’t much different in the race. But anyway, we have to be satisfied. I think we’re getting the most out of our current package, and I’m taking valuable experience from this for the future.”

“We’re doing a good job as a team, even if we have to grit our teeth and get through certain phases. The overseas races are generally going quite well for KTM.”

“ We’re riding well and making hardly any mistakes, unlike in Japan. We’re doing a good job, and even when we have problems, we manage to stay close to the podium. As I said, we’re putting in a strong finish to the season.”

“That was exactly my goal after the summer break: to bring this chapter with KTM to a close in the best possible way,” said Acosta. Would he have had a chance to battle with Marc Márquez if he’d got past Alex Márquez earlier?

“Well, perhaps it would have been a tiny bit closer, but from what I saw, Marc was unbeatable anyway. Whether you were a bit closer or further back didn’t make much difference in the end.”

👊 @37_pedroacosta makes the move on @alexmarquez73

Bezzecchi tries but doesn’t manage to hold on 👀

#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 https://t.co/f6ASAHyTVk

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) 1 November 2026

“I didn’t have many opportunities to try and overtake Alex either. The two behind us were putting on a lot of pressure, and I wasn’t really quick on the straights today.”

“The only chance to attack came right there. I simply took my chance, and it worked. Yes, I’m happy.” Acosta remains fourth in the World Championship standings.

In Malaysia, he made up 15 World Championship points on Marco Bezzecchi. He is now just 37 points behind the Aprilia rider. With Qatar, Portimão and Valencia, there are still three race weekends left on the calendar.

Where does Acosta reckon he has the best chance of winning a second Grand Prix with KTM? “Hard to say. I mean, at the moment we’re not at the same level as Ducati and Aprilia.”

“Even though Marco is, let’s say, my direct rival in the battle for third place in the World Championship. But it looks as though Qatar will be an Aprilia track. He won in Portugal and Valencia last year.”

“Let’s see how it goes. We’ll try to secure a few more podium finishes for the factory team. And if that doesn’t work out, we’ll just try to be as close as possible.”

Overall, Sepang was a good weekend for KTM. Enea Bastianini (Tech3) secured his second-best result of the season with fifth place. Brad Binder fought his way up from 15th on the grid to ninth. Maverick Viñales (Tech3) picked up two World Championship points in 14th place.