Pedro Acosta races with the number 37. In MotoGP, each rider chooses a permanent number that stays with them throughout their career (only the reigning World Champion has the option to switch to number 1), and 37 has been Acosta’s since his junior days. It now appears on his bike’s front number board, his leathers, his helmet and every piece of official merchandise — the New Era replica cap even carries an embroidered “37” on the visor.

The number has become inseparable from his “Shark” identity. Official partners lean into it hard — Quad Lock’s limited-edition Acosta phone case pairs a “bold #37 with a shark motif,” finished with an orange accent nodding to his KTM colours. For a rider still in his early twenties, #37 already carries genuine brand weight in the paddock.

Pedro Acosta was born on 25 May 2004, which makes him 22 years old in the 2026 season. He hails from Mazarrón, a coastal town in the Murcia region of south-eastern Spain — the origin of his famous nickname, “the Shark of Mazarrón” (El Tiburón de Mazarrón).

His youth is central to what makes him remarkable. Acosta has spent his entire career shattering “youngest ever” records: he won races in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup as a teenager, took the Moto3 world title in 2021, and became the youngest ever Moto2 world champion in 2023 at just 19. By the time he reached MotoGP in 2024, he was already one of the most hyped prospects the sport had seen in a generation — and he backed it up with five podiums in his rookie premier-class season.

Acosta wears an Alpinestars Supertech R10 helmet — the same top-tier lid available to the public as a replica, which tells you how closely fans identify with his designs. His standard helmet uses a predominantly dark navy theme with the prominent Red Bull and KTM branding of his factory deal, plus shark-inspired graphics that reinforce his nickname.

The shark motif

The recurring design thread across Acosta’s helmets is, unsurprisingly, the shark. It ties directly to his “Shark of Mazarrón” identity and appears in various forms — from subtle fin shapes to more overt shark graphics — across his standard and special-edition lids. It’s one of the more coherent personal brands on the MotoGP grid, built consistently from the junior categories upward.

The Supertech R10 itself is a genuinely elite piece of safety equipment: a multi-composite carbon shell, an eight-piece multi-density EPS liner, and homologation to the latest ECE 22.06, DOT and FIM standards. When you buy an Acosta replica, you’re getting the same shell technology he trusts at 350 km/h — which is a large part of why rider helmet designs sell so well. For more on the engineering that keeps riders safe, see our explainer on what causes crashes in motor racing.

Acosta’s rise through the ranks has been almost vertical. Two junior world championships, a Moto2 title in only his second season, and immediate competitiveness in MotoGP have marked him as a future premier-class champion in waiting.

The headline numbers in MotoGP tell their own story: across his premier-class career he has amassed 15 podiums and two pole positions without yet taking a maiden win — a statistic that only underlines how close he is to breaking through. His fourth place in the 2025 championship on 307 points was the best of his career to that point, and 2026 has seen him firmly established as one of the sport’s leading riders. His performances have repeatedly been described in glowing terms; after one 2026 podium, fans and media alike marvelled at what he continues to extract from the KTM. For the wider championship picture, see our MotoGP San Marino GP report.

The biggest news of Acosta’s career so far is where he’s going next. He is set to leave KTM at the end of 2026 to join the factory Ducati Lenovo Team from 2027 — one of the defining moves of MotoGP’s blockbuster rider-market reshuffle for the sport’s new 850cc era.

The significance is hard to overstate. Ducati has been the dominant force in MotoGP, and its factory seats are the most coveted on the grid. Acosta will partner reigning World Champion Marc Márquez, taking the seat vacated by two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia, who is heading to Aprilia. For a rider who has never quite had the machinery to match his talent at KTM, a factory Ducati represents the platform on which he is widely expected to finally win — and perhaps to challenge for the title.

It also means 2026 is Acosta’s KTM farewell tour — every strong result now carries the subtext of a rider proving, on his way out, exactly what the Austrian manufacturer is losing. His third place at the San Marino Grand Prix, charging from seventh on the grid, was the kind of drive that makes Ducati’s investment look very shrewd indeed.