Moto3
The man from Mazarron fell into a curve shortly after the start of the session, but he recovered soon and ended up completing a very hopeful Friday
Great start for Pedro Acosta at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where this Sunday he can become the earliest world champion in the history of motorcycling, with only 17 years and 152 days. The pilot from Mazarron left a good feeling in the first two practice sessions in difficult conditions, with cold and rain at the Misano circuit. Thus, in the combined times table on Friday he was second, just 0.007 behind the fastest lap of the day, set by the Italian Andrea Migno.
Third, already three tenths behind Acosta, was Alberto Surra, also from the Alps. Acosta’s rival in the fight for the championship, the Italian Dennis Foggia, made a very poor debut at Misano and took 23rd place in the first free practice sessions of the weekend.
The morning started off crooked for Acosta, who suffered a slight crash at turn 6. Minutes later, the man from Mazarron got back on his KTM to conclude the session and was 15th in the first round, with 1: 54.277. The rain continued throughout the day, so the second free practice sessions were also held in wet conditions. Acosta improved a lot and achieved a best time of 1: 52.536. He did 16 laps and finished second. Tomorrow, starting at 12:35 pm, he will fight for pole position.
«The day has gone quite well. The aim was to provisionally qualify for Q2 and we succeeded. It was important to test our feelings and find out where the limit was, in case it rained tomorrow. In FP2 we were able to test all the things that we had pending from FP1. I am happy with the work we did this Friday, “summed up Acosta, who this Sunday needs to win the race and for Foggia not to be among the top eleven to be able to celebrate the Moto3 title at Misano. If not, you will have two more options: Portimao and Cheste.
“You have to dream”
Although Acosta has his first option this week to be proclaimed champion, he prefers not to obsess over it: “That is a matter of time. If the situation arises of being champion in Misano, it will be necessary to risk to be it in Misano, because that way I will already run two races having fun and enjoying it again, because it has been difficult for me lately in the last races. If I am the youngest, fine, and if not, nothing happens. I have to risk. The advantage is to use it, if not, what is it for? ».
Speaking to DAZN, he stressed that achieving the championship is the dream of his life: “I have not lived for anything else and I do not think I will be happy if I do not succeed. Now they have a lot of pressure in case I win, but I have the pressure that next year I will not be able to try again. It is the first and the last chance, so you have to risk and give it your all ».
Although he arrives at the Italian race with a 30-point advantage, he stressed that he does not contemplate the option of losing the title: “After a whole year with pick and drop, I think losing would taste a bit like nothing. Many people have told me about the ‘Rookie of the year’, but that does not taste like anything to me. If I was doing it wrong, I would have the excuse of saying ‘look, I did’ Rookie of the year ‘, that was my goal’, but no. Once you are fighting for a World Cup, it does not matter if you are ‘Rookie of the Year’ or if you win the Team Championship, it does not matter. I could say ‘no, we have already had a good season’, but if it is not finished, it will never be a good season ». And if she takes the title, Acosta promises a celebration in style: «She is going to get very fat. It doesn’t matter where you win. If it is won in Misano, in Portimao or in Valencia, but we will celebrate it as God intended ».
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