Sunday, August 20, 2023, 12:35 p.m.
Pedro Acosta had his Tyrolean suit ready to celebrate a victory that was almost taken for granted. It was his way of paying homage to his brand, the Austrian KTM, which has accompanied him since his beginnings in the championship and with which he will make the leap to the premier class in 2024. Since he set foot on the Red Bull Ring, he has already said that this It would not be another weekend, since the entire leadership of his brand and the energy drink brand that sponsors him were present here. “He wanted to win here in front of the bosses,” he repeated over and over again. And he seemed on track when the Murcian had dominated with authority on Friday, he had taken pole position on Saturday and made an impeccable start, reaching turn 1 first and leading the race from the start.
As the laps went by, he was opening a gap with his rivals until he managed to manage an advantage of between one and a half and two seconds. The laps fell and what seemed like a military ride for Acosta turned into a nightmare with the fall of the front tire that overheated. While he surfed on the asphalt with several scares that could have been a drama, a grown Celestino Vietti grew behind him and recovered the disadvantage at forced marches.
The Italian reached his wheel with six to go and it didn’t take him a lap to put the bike in. A simple overtaking for him, which Acosta could not replicate. But he did take advantage of his slipstream to cut the bleeding that even threatened him with losing second position. Although the position was worth it, the Murcian did not throw in the towel and in the final stretch he even tried to fight Vietti for victory. A couple of scares made him give up and take the podium for granted. There was much more to lose than gain, especially considering that his rival for the title, Tony Arbolino, was running sixth.
Vietti was able to celebrate the victory without stress in the last lap and achieved his first victory in 2023. Behind him, Acosta crossed the finish line second and on the lap of honor he stopped in the middle of the circuit, where his family and friends were waiting for him. As he had planned, he visited Tyrolean and thus celebrated a podium that brings him closer to the final goal, the Moto2 title that he is now closer to. “It’s one more step. We recovered all the disadvantage that we had at the beginning and now we are expanding it. They are already 12 points ahead and the dynamics are in their favor.
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