Pedro Acosta finished ninth in qualifying and sixth in the Mandalika Sprint, underlining KTM’s difficulty matching its rivals at the Indonesian MotoGP round. The sixth-place result came after a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits during the 13-lap race. It was a marked contrast with Acosta’s previous two Indonesian Grands Prix, in which he had finished second.

Acosta said the RC16 had been suffering from pronounced instability throughout the weekend. He was trying to close the gap to the opposition in sector two, but the bike’s shaking was severe enough for him to touch the green surface three times. In his assessment, fifth was the best result available after a poor qualifying performance. Fourth or third might have become possible if the riders ahead had fought for longer, while Jorge Martin was clearly quicker than him.

The KTM rider did not think the track had changed substantially between Friday and Saturday, noting that Ducati and Aprilia were still fast. He linked the deficit instead to the rate of development: KTM is quicker than it was last year, but its bike has not changed much, while both rival manufacturers have made a larger advance. Acosta also pointed to a wider competitive pattern: the four Aprilias tend to work well when a circuit suits the brand, whereas Ducati is usually strong across almost every track.