Pedro Acosta passed Jorge Martin on lap nine to claim his maiden MotoGP victory at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, giving KTM a home win.
Pedro Acosta claimed his first MotoGP victory on Sunday, September 20, beating Jorge Martin in the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring and ending KTM’s long wait for a premier-class win at its home event.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider seized control on lap nine of the 28-lap race, passing polesitter Martin after Turn 1. Acosta managed the gap from there aboard the factory RC16 and crossed the line 1.017 seconds ahead of the Aprilia rider.
Acosta fights back after slow start
Acosta faced an immediate recovery. He started third after qualifying on a front row separated by seven hundredths of a second, then slipped to fifth through the opening sequence of corners.
Martin turned pole into the holeshot, while Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura moved ahead to give Aprilia the first three positions. Acosta began his response before the opening lap ended by passing Marc Marquez, then cleared Ogura on the next tour.
Bezzecchi briefly attacked Martin for the lead at the start of lap two. Martin reclaimed first place at Turn 3, while Acosta passed Bezzecchi at Turn 2 and started cutting into the leader’s half-second advantage.
Martin covered several early attacks. Acosta completed the decisive pass on lap nine, accelerating by his fellow Spaniard after Turn 1.
KTM takes charge in the closing laps
Martin remained close through the middle phase, but Acosta held an advantage of around eight tenths of a second. With eight laps left, the KTM rider raised his pace and stretched the margin past one second.
Martin took second, with teammate Bezzecchi finishing third only 0.192 seconds behind. Ogura completed an Aprilia sweep of positions two through four on his return from injury.
Marc Marquez recovered to fifth after running wide at Turn 1 on lap nine and dropping to seventh by the midpoint. Brad Binder secured sixth for KTM, 8.720 seconds behind his victorious teammate, to record his best result of the season.
Fermin Aldeguer came home seventh after starting 12th. Francesco Bagnaia placed eighth, ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco, the leading Honda rider.
First victory comes after 56 attempts
The breakthrough came in Acosta’s 56th premier-class start. It also delivered KTM’s first MotoGP Grand Prix victory since the 2022 Thai Grand Prix.
Acosta had displayed front-running pace throughout round 15. He headed Pol Espargaro in a KTM one-two during Friday’s FP1, then led Practice later that day with a 1:28.381 lap, finishing 0.127 seconds ahead of Aldeguer.
Martin became the first motorcycle racer to lap the Red Bull Ring in the 1m27s during qualifying. He took pole ahead of Marquez and Acosta, with the entire front row covered by less than one tenth.
Sunday’s result turned KTM’s speed into its first victory of the weekend.
Acosta answers Sprint crash on Sunday
Acosta’s Grand Prix triumph came after a costly error in Saturday’s Sprint. He had built a lead of almost three seconds before crashing at Turn 2 with three laps to go, handing Martin the victory.
Martin’s Sprint success moved him three points clear in the riders’ championship after he and Marquez arrived in Austria level on 274 points. Acosta’s Sunday win then put him between the title rivals at the front of the Grand Prix, while Martin’s second place increased his advantage over fifth-place Marquez.
The result extended Acosta’s streak of Sunday podiums. He had taken third behind Marc and Alex Marquez at the preceding San Marino Grand Prix.
Aprilia locks down the chasing places
Martin came under pressure from Bezzecchi in the closing laps but held second place. Bezzecchi finished 1.209 seconds behind Acosta, with Ogura a further 0.930 seconds back.
Only one rider failed to reach the finish. Alex Marquez crashed from 12th shortly before halfway, while Yamaha left the Red Bull Ring without scoring.
Acosta will depart KTM after the 2026 season. He is set to join Marc Marquez at the Ducati Lenovo Team for 2027 and 2028, with the Japanese Grand Prix next on the schedule from October 2 through October 4.
