Pedro Acosta's surprising MotoGP claim: "We shouldn't be leading the championship"

Pedro Acosta insists he should not be leading the MotoGP standings and has "zero expectations" ahead of the Brazilian round.

The young Spaniard scored 32 of a possible 37 points in Thailand, combining a debut Sprint victory - after a late penalty for Marc Marquez - with second place behind Marco Bezzecchi in the grand prix.

Bezzecchi’s Sprint crash meant Acosta kept hold of the championship lead, a first for a KTM rider.

However, Acosta insists his top-five target remains unchanged heading into this weekend’s return of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“Normally, we are quite fast at new tracks, but you never know. We have to see where we are in FP1 tomorrow and after that put a clear target,” Pedro Acosta said on Thursday in Goiania.

“We know that we should not be leading the championship. 

"For this, we have to keep going with our target to always be in the top five and try to not to make the mistake I was normally making in the first part of last year, which was crashing a lot.

“Let's see what's going on in Brazil, zero expectation at the moment.”

Acosta may be keeping his feet on the ground, but he admitted it is “cool” to see his name on top of the standings, even if he feels it is not where he belongs.

“As you can imagine, it's super nice to see yourself on top of the MotoGP standings, but like I say, it's not our target now,” he repeated.

“I have to keep working like I'm doing.

“I was really happy about the race we did in Thailand, because I was not committing the mistakes that I normally made last year. But we have to keep working like this and that's it.”

Acosta admitted frustration got the better of him early last season, but says the step forward for 2026 comes from both rider and machine.

“Last year, in the first part of the season, I was angry, let's say. And I was quite negative,” he said.

On the technical side, improved tyre management has made the biggest difference.

“It's clear that we are able to survive more with the tyres during a race. And this is the first step to be competitive,” Acosta explained.

“After that, the bike is becoming more easy. Also, the team are working faster. And from Mattighofen, they push and go flat out all this winter.

“Maybe also the general situation of the [KTM] brand is better. I think it's a combination of many things.”

Acosta’s factory team-mate Brad Binder is the next-best KTM rider, sitting sixth in the standings.