Pedro Acosta benefited significantly from Maverick Vinales’ arrival at KTM, with the Spaniard’s experience helping the team overcome a difficult start to the 2025 MotoGP season.
According to Acosta’s crew chief Paul Trevathan, both Vinales and his long-time crew chief Manu Cazeaux played a key role in guiding KTM toward a clearer development direction after early struggles with the RC16.
Vinales joined KTM through the Tech3 squad, reuniting with Cazeaux, a partnership that dates back to their Suzuki days. After a challenging winter and a disappointing opening round in Thailand, the duo were the first within KTM to identify a workable solution, which emerged during warm-up in Argentina.
The focus was on improving rear stability, particularly under braking, to better control rear slide and allow cleaner corner entry and acceleration. This approach helped make the bike more manageable and consistent.
Beyond setup changes, Vinales also demonstrated that a smoother riding style could be effective on the KTM, offering a different perspective compared to the more aggressive approach used by Acosta and Brad Binder. While not all elements were directly transferable, the ideas proved valuable.
Trevathan said the presence of strong teammates helps both rider and bike development, as data-backed evidence can open new perspectives. He noted that Vinales’ riding style contrasted sharply with Acosta’s, yet achieved similar lap times, which encouraged fresh thinking within the team.
Acosta was praised for his open-minded attitude, showing no ego and a strong willingness to learn and experiment with new approaches. This mindset helped KTM better understand that multiple riding styles could work with the same machinery.
Cazeaux’s contribution was also highlighted, particularly in helping tailor the bike to suit Vinales when he struggled early on. While the solution did not apply universally, it proved effective and added valuable experience to the overall project.
Despite losing a potential podium due to a tyre-pressure penalty in Qatar and later suffering a shoulder injury, Vinales’ influence left a lasting impact. Acosta went on to emerge as KTM’s leading rider, scoring twelve podiums in the second half of the season and finishing fourth in the world championship.
