Pedro Acosta, as a young rookie of the GasGas Tech 3 team, has become KTM's reference rider on a complicated track like the Austin Circuit. The Spaniard, racing for the first time with MotoGP in America, demonstrated that he is making giant strides in his adaptation to the category and the bike.
On Friday he shone in the afternoon session, gaining a direct pass to Q2. On Saturday morning he commanded an intense third session, making it clear that he had the pace to fight for the podium and, who knows, something more if there had been a bit of chaos in the race. In qualifying he took second position, only behind Maverick Vinales, poleman ahead of all the Ducatis and, obviously, the KTMs.
In the Sprint, he had a good start, but he lost position to Marc Marquez, who started third. Despite this, Acosta remained in the podium positions from the first to the sixth lap, when world championship leader Jorge Martin overtook him. First, Pedro had passed Marquez, but the Gresini standard bearer had responded to his attack, and this maneuver allowed the Pramac standard-bearer to get closer. Acosta was left with no margin for reaction and remained fourth.
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I was so close and so far at the same time,” he tried to sum up poetically when talking about the race. “I don't like losing, and I can tolerate this less every year,” she admitted. “Marc and Martin were smarter than me, I have to learn from what they did.”
Despite not reaching the podium in Austin in the Sprint, the rookie finished the race as the first of the KTM riders, consolidating his position as leader of the Mattighofen manufacturer: “I don't think about being the first KTM, but about the fact that we have three bikes in front of. I don't want to be there and neither does our brand,” he said, appearing demanding and ambitious.
On the reasons that are preventing him from making a decisive move, Acosta pinpointed the problem: “It's complicated for me to adapt to this type of weekend format. The Sprint is half the distance, but you have to do it at 95% for almost all the laps and at 100% for three laps,” he explained.
Even though he didn't reach the podium, the young rookie was faster than in Portugal, so he follows the path of growth as a driver: “I was faster than in Portimao, it's true. But I want more, no one likes to lose,” he concluded by clarifying that “the bike is going very well” when asked if he had had any problems with the RC16.
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