Pedro Acosta arrives at Jerez this weekend staring down a milestone nobody wants. If the Red Bull KTM rider fails to convert his current hot streak into a grand prix victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, he will extend a run of podium finishes without a win to 13 — an unwanted modern-era record for a rider still searching for his first MotoGP triumph.
The 21-year-old has been peerless on Saturdays and consistent on Sundays without ever finding the top step. He sits third in the 2026 standings, behind Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin, with a pair of podiums already banked this season and strong early-year form from KTM's RC16.
Asked about the victory drought in Jerez on Wednesday, Acosta brushed it off with the same calm he has shown all year.
"A win? I've been waiting for one for three years. I can wait another race," Acosta said in Thursday's pre-event press conference. It was a trademark response from a rider who broke into the premier class as a 2024 rookie sensation, but whose grand prix winner's trophy has stubbornly eluded him despite 12 podium visits.
The maths are stacked against him if the record is to be averted at Jerez. Marc Marquez, who sits fifth in the championship but is chasing his 100th grand prix victory, is back on the 2026 Ducati that has won only once all season. Bezzecchi arrives with 121 consecutive laps led across five rounds in a modern-era Aprilia run that has torn up the record book. Martin is on equal machinery to his teammate. KTM has not won a premier-class race since Brad Binder's 2022 sprint success, and the factory's Jerez history since joining MotoGP is unremarkable.
But Acosta's long-term outlook has not shifted. Earlier in the week he spoke to news.gp about his ambitions beyond the typical retirement age, telling the grid he is already planning for a career that extends well into his thirties. He is, in short, refusing to let short-term anxiety rewrite his story.
"I still have a lot of years ahead of me," the Spaniard has said repeatedly across the opening three rounds. "I don't want to force something just because of the number of podiums."
KTM's technical staff, led by Jerez veteran Dani Pedrosa in his test-rider role, have been bullish about the package for the Andalusian round. Pedrosa and Acosta both believe the RC16 suits the long, flowing right-handers of Jerez, a track where grip and corner speed can mask horsepower disadvantages. The Austrian marque has brought a revised aero package and a new front-wheel setup aimed at preserving tyre life through the second half of 50-minute stints.
If Acosta does break through, he will also deliver KTM a result they have been chasing for more than two years and lay down a clear marker in a championship that is beginning to look like Aprilia's to lose. If he does not, the unwanted record will be his — and his patience will get another, even more public, test at Le Mans next month.
Sunday's 25-lap Spanish Grand Prix starts at 13:00 BST. Acosta's Saturday sprint, where he has already scored a podium this year, begins 24 hours earlier.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/pedro-acosta-jerez-unwanted-motogp-podium-no-win-record-2026). Visit for full coverage.*