Pedro Acosta is a helluva rider. He's young, amazingly talented, and beat out a ton of old hats on great machines over the course of the 2024 season. Because of his capabilities, he was moved up from the GasGas team to the main factory-backed KTM team for the 2025 season. And it was honestly deserved.
But over the last few weeks, KTM's financials have been in the news a lot.
The Austrian brand is facing insolvency and is nearly bankrupt. It's halted production, laid off staff, cut the board from eight people to two, put rebates on previously stockpiled inventory, and as of a couple days ago, stated that its newly acquired MV Agusta stake would be, essentially, given up and done away with. There were also rumors that development on its 2025 MotoGP bike would be halted due to the financial strains.
The team's boss, Pit Beirer, stated otherwise, but the paddock can't help but wonder how much longer the Austrian outfit could remain in the sport, especially when competitive advantage means spending millions on research and development. All of this surely factors in the persistent rumor that Acosta is looking at jumping ship and ensuring he has a future in MotoGP.
Honestly, he'd be stupid not to be looking elsewhere. And from my conversation with him earlier this year, he's anything but stupid.
According to GPOne, Acosta's manager Albert Valera, has already begun talks with Ducati. Though Acosta's contact wouldn't be up until 2026, given the current financial issues with KTM, that could see him leaving the company for another team. "While Valera is considering a possible Plan B," the outlet states about Acosta's future, "Ducati is already looking to the future, and Acosta would be the best option on the market for a relaunch."
However, a further wrench has been thrown into the works, this time in the guise of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Again, due to the financial issues revolving around KTM, rumors about its MotoGP team have been swirling like nuts. These range from the team disappearing entirely, to the concept above of Acosta peacing out early, to development freezes. Anything and everything is seemingly on the table, and it ain't even silly season.
But one that's intriguing, and that I could personally see occurring, is that Lewis Hamilton, who has already stated publicly that he wants to be a part of MotoGP in a team principal/owner way, could possibly be looking at acquiring KTM's factory team. And that's despite the fact that everyone involved has vigorously denied such rumors.
GPOne reported that while Hamilton has indeed expressed a desire to own a team, it's likely not KTM or GasGas. Despite their financial issues, the parties involved stated "Never in a million years," as well as issued denials based on Hamilton's long-time partnership with the Red Bull KTM team's competitor Monster Energy.
Furthermore, they added that any deal wouldn't be completed ahead of the Sepang test, or even the season opener. GasGas Factory Racing Tech3's Hervé Poncharal even told the outlet, "These rumors are completely unfounded. There's not a shred of truth in them. And I assume that this also applies to the factory team."
But here's the thing. KTM has been denying that it's been in serious financial trouble for months now. And Dorna, despite having the ability to take back those spots from GasGas and/or KTM, likely doesn't want to see that occur.
Likewise, the series has move swiftly to address situations like this in recent months, such as the moving of race weekends, tracks, and more. And with MotoGP now under Liberty Media's control, as well as Hamilton being one of the biggest stars on the planet, it's absolute horseshit to say "it could never happen."
Remember, Beirer also previously said that Acosta wouldn't be switching teams, and then that exact thing occurred. I, honestly, wouldn't believe a single word coming from KTM-World at present, least of all about the team's plans for its MotoGP efforts.
As for Acosta, if I were him, I'd be doing two things. Firstly, I'd be looking for my exit, as KTM may not be the ticket to the championship that he's so desperately seeking. And secondly, I'd be knocking down Hamilton's door, pleading with the champion to buy the team and stave off ruin.
