MotoGP | Acosta: “I smile even if I'm 8th, three years ago I would have gone crazy”

In the most technological, complicated and balanced era in the history of MotoGP, the young rookie of the GasGas team Pedro Acosta showed off his panache by finishing in eighth position in the Sprint of the Qatar Grand Prix, the inaugural event of the 2024 season.

First weekend in the premier class, first Sprint, first race with KTM, first time at night… Nothing could stop the talent of the Murcian, who without exaggerating built a solid race in which he gained positions overtaking, among others, Jack Miller . The Australian already sees how the arrival of the Spanish phenomenon will force him to remain without a bike.

At the end of the race, Acosta returned to the garage and was applauded and praised by all members of the GasGas Tech3 team. But the rookie immediately sat down in his chair in the garage and began to explain to the engineers his sensations in the race, to improve and be more ready for the next one.

“We must be very happy, the sensations with the bike are good. I was behind Alex Marquez the whole time and I didn't know if the turbulences were from my bike or his,” he explained at the end of the day.

“We need to be more focused on trying not to touch anyone for aerodynamics. It was a very interesting day,” admitted Acosta, who always seems to remain calm at all times. “I saw the fight in front and an orange motorbike, I thought I had to stay closer. I finished just four seconds behind Brad Binder and that's not much,” he explained.

Acosta acknowledged that with so many new sensations he had to depend a lot on others, something he needs to correct: “We have to focus more on ourselves than on how others lead.” Despite the brilliant eighth place in the Sprint, for tomorrow's race, which will be of double distance, the difficulty for a rookie can be greater: “For the long race I don't expect anything. I'll go out and see what we can do.”

The GasGas rider started from the eighth spot on the grid and lost a few positions when the traffic lights went out. From there he had to recover during the race: “I lost four seconds in the first two laps. It was the first time I started overtaking other drivers. The others started with a different mentality.”

In a scenario that would impress anyone, Acosta ended happy understanding that, for the first day, it was a good one: “I got off the bike with a smile despite the eighth position, which I don't like. The Pedro of three years ago would have gone crazy. There wasn't much else today, but the start wasn't bad.”