Rumours continue to swirl around the MotoGP paddock that the racer hotly tipped as the sport’s next big star - Pedro Acosta - is looking at finding a way out of his KTM contract after 2025.
And it’s a situation that could provide a golden opportunity for the next step in Honda’s rebuilding plan.
It’s no secret that Acosta hasn’t been happy with KTM’s progress so far this season, speaking frankly about the difficulties the team has faced that have left him with only one points finish from the opening three race weekends of the season.
So unhappy has he been that it has prompted rumours about a potential performance-based exit clause in his contract, something that his manager Albert Valera didn’t conclusively deny when speaking to Spanish newspaper AS about the story it first reported at the Argentine Grand Prix last month.
“We hope things go very well at KTM and we can stay for many years,” Valera told the paper when asked about the rumours of an escape clause.
“It depends on KTM. Pedro is committed to the brand and his goal is to win world championships with KTM.”
Acosta further poured fuel on the fire at last weekend’s Grand Prix of the Americas when he gifted his special design US race helmet to Valera with a note marking the race weekend as a turning point - something that aligns with rumours heard by The Race suggesting that KTM had only the first three races of the year to lock Acosta in for 2026.
Paddock sources have suggested that even if that isn't quite the case, a buyout for 2026 is possible - though it understandably won't be cheap.
Initial rumours cited Ducati as Acosta’s likely escape route, which is logical given the might of the Italian factory at the moment, but far from guaranteed given Ducati already has a full house of riders.
It could well be that Acosta’s management might have another factory team knocking on their door sooner rather than later - one that might also be more willing and able than Ducati to spend big on a contract buyout if one is necessary.
One of the few racers out of sync with the rest of the grid as their contract ends at the end of the current season is factory Honda rider Luca Marini, meaning that should Acosta unexpectedly be on the market, then there could be a space for him to fit into at Honda.
He would be a very good fit for the team, too. Honda is no stranger to signing young Spanish superstars and delivering incredible success with them - though 2020 world champion Joan Mir’s recent results show how the old Honda magic has been lost (and the Repsol sponsor backing along with it).
But, as always with Honda, form is temporary and class is permanent, and it’s only a matter of time before it finds its way back to the top, something that’ll no doubt be sped up by 2027’s radical new rules.
And, given the improvements we’re already seeing in their RC213V of late, Honda is a much more realistic opportunity than it would have been even as recently as just a few short months ago, something that Acosta was made painfully aware of at Termas de Rio Hondo last month.
Caught somewhat unexpectedly battling with both Mir and satellite LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco during both the main race and the sprint in Argentina, he got the chance for a close-up look at the Honda and admitted afterwards that he was impressed by what has until recently been the series’ worst bike.
“They are making a good job,” Acosta explained when asked by The Race about what he had seen from the Hondas.
“From all this winter, they’ve made maybe the biggest steps, if we compare all the manufacturers.
“Zarco was f***ing fast, and it’s true that he has these really pointed tracks where he’s more outstanding, but anyway Mir was really fast in all the pre-season tests and in Thailand.
“They are making a good job, because I was behind Mir for some laps and it wasn’t looking bad at all.”
Honda’s pace - even if it didn’t really translate into results - at Austin two weeks later, as Acosta had another frustrating weekend, won’t have dented that impression.
Any theoretical link between Acosta and Honda wouldn’t necessarily even mean the end of Marini’s time in MotoGP.
He’s developed a reputation as one of the series’ smartest racers and has been a key asset in Honda’s return to form of late, so there’s no reason why he couldn’t swap over to KTM and take some of that technical knowledge with him.
But Acosta is the kind of rider you try to get hold of no matter the knock-on effects and he's exactly what Honda needs both to accelerate its recovery and give it a guaranteed superstar to lead its next era when it’s back at the front.
