The GasGas Tech3-KTM rider had been asking for weeks for a good qualifying to be able to start at the head of the grid and immediately get in front, and on Saturday he managed to get a spectacular front row, but during the Sprint of the Indonesian Grand Prix he was unable to make progress and was overtaken on the last lap by Franco Morbidelli, who left him in sixth position.
“We improved a lot in terms of feeling. We were looking for grip to be able to stay with the Ducatis at the start, but this time we had so much grip that braking was a disaster,” explained the KTM rider.
“I think we found something very positive, even if we messed up the Sprint. But we have some good things for the next race, now we just need to fix things a little and improve the start of the race. At the beginning I was slow, then when the guys in front of me went away, I started to go very fast and on the last lap I made a mess”, referring to the loss of position to the Italian from Prima Pramac Racing.
In a single maneuver, in the same corner, at the start of the race, when Acosta was third, he was passed by Marco Bezzechi and Marc Marquez…. “and almost also by Bastianini. It was a disaster, we had so much grip which influenced me in my strong point, which is braking: I had the bike like a truck and no matter how hard I braked I couldn’t stop it. I think we have to take the positive aspects: we worked hard for tomorrow and we found the grip we were looking for. now we need to know how to use it,” he explained.
“The extra grip is general, it helps us to take corners much better and accelerate better, at least not to lose meters in acceleration. But today I struggled, we need to learn to use it or fix it.”
Jorge Martín, Pramac Racing, Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Among the highlights of the day for him was the front row in Q2. “Today we made a lot of progress, even if the Sprint was bad, today is one of the days in which even being sixth I can be… I was about to say happy, but I was pissed because I made a mistake on the last lap, which is why Morbidelli he passed me. But it was a positive day and we found the things we needed.”
Finally, Acosta was asked how he sees the title fight between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia. “Close, very close because unfortunately Martin made mistakes in important moments. With the pace he had today it would have been easy for him to win the race. But these are things that can happen, and I also think it’s better that they happen today than tomorrow,” he said, before giving a suggestion to the Spaniard.
“Due to my inexperience, given that you lose few points by finishing second in a Sprint, I don’t think it would have been a drama to lose some today and recover some tomorrow. It will help him for tomorrow, he will be calmer, for now he is still the leader with 12 points , I’m sure he won’t make any more mistakes tomorrow”, concluded the “Shark of Mazarron”.
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