Pete Baer has now ‘accepted’ that Pedro Acosta was wrong when he joined KTM.

Bearer thinks Acosta would have finished third in the Cavaliers standings last year if he started the 2026 season with the same mindset. The 21-year-old finished fourth last season, ahead of Alex Marquez in second with 160 points and Marco Bezecic in third with 46.

Acosta’s strong start to the 2026 season saw him sit third in the standings at the April break. It topped the standings after the opening round in Thailand, but the Aprilia RS-GP’s strengths compared to the KTM RC16 saw Bezecichi and Jorge Martin stand out.

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Acosta helped Bezecic with 21 points and Martin with 17 for three rounds, making up for the former’s deficit in the Italian clash in the Sprint Races in Thailand and the US. Acosta won the Buriram Sprint with a penalty from Marc Marquezafter the fall of Bezechichi.

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So far this season, no other KTM rider has been able to come close to Acosta’s results. Bearer feels Acosta’s improved performance is a direct result of his maturity and mindset, as he realizes that winning or losing is the wrong approach, and now accepts the best results.

Birr said. Fast weekPedro has matured amazingly: he knows we may not always have the best bike, but he now accepts that if you consistently get the highest, you can be in the top 3 in the World Championship.

“At every Grand Prix, nobody has the best bike. Last year he was driven by the risk of our company and he was very negative. He realized in the first race that he wasn’t good enough to win. For him it was win or nothing – there was no middle ground.

But an analysis of the season clearly shows that if he had used his best fourth, fifth or sixth place, he would have fallen short in his pursuit of victory, finishing third in last year’s World Championship.

“I have to take the points, and my runs will come – my runs will come! You simply have to get the points, otherwise all the performance is for nothing. He has matured remarkably in this period.”

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Acosta has been different from his fellow KTM riders this year, with Tech3 star Innea Bastianini being the second best runner in the RC16 but only scoring 22 points in P11. Works KTM pilot Brad Binder finished 12th with just 17 points.

Bastiani is another KTM rider in 2026, although Acosta is still in Sprint after his suspension. Post competition A tire pressure penalty dropped Acosta from P3 to P8 in the COTA SprintBinder still finished P12 in Texas while Bastianini was promoted to P3.

Acosta’s innovative mindset played a key role in his results this year as well. KTM test rider Pol Espargaro believes that Acosta is at the “prime” level Now, like Beyer, he has seen the Mazarron native show more maturity in his approach to competition than simply chasing wins.