Pit Beirer, former motocross rider and current KTM sporting director, attended a meeting with the German media online last night. Among the topics covered, the incredible pre-season put in place by the young Pedro Acosta, who this year makes his debut in the premier class, stood out. Furthermore, it confirmed that Dani Pedrosa, MotoGP legend and tester for the Austrian team, will race as a wild card in the Spanish Grand Prix which will take place in Jerez on the weekend of 28 April.
KTM, through its partner Aki Ajo, signed Acosta to its Moto3 team in 2021, winning the title on debut against all odds. After a difficult first year of learning in Moto2, he returned to dominate in 2023, becoming champion and thus confirming his decision to move to MotoGP this year. Without a place to place him, KTM had to sacrifice Pol Espargaro to give a bike to the Murcia rider in the GasGas Tech3 team, where he debuted this pre-season surprising everyone. “His performance was incredible. He was faster than last year's pole in both circuits,” Beirer explained.
“The lap times were crazy. But it wasn't the fastest lap performance that surprised us. Even more impressive was his way of working, how organized he is. He worked point by point, moving relatively quickly through the phase of being a novice who simply had to ride and not worry about set-up or development. He told us very quickly what he wanted and in which direction he needed to change the bike. He surprised us how quickly he learned the tracks and how quickly he gained speed,” argued the former driver.
Acosta dominated the shakedown at the beginning of February in Sepang, then closed the collective tests carried out on the same track in ninth position and closed the pre-season in Qatar with the 15th time, one second behind the fastest, Pecco Bagnaia. The Murcian has always been faster than his teammate Augusto Fernandez, who begins his second season in GasGas. “He remained in the top 10 for all days of collective testing, this is an incredible performance,” summarized Beirer.
Dani Pedrosa, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Pedrosa will race the Spanish GP as a wild card
After leaving Espargaro without a place in its satellite team, KTM decided to include him in the test team, which also includes Pedrosa. Both, present at the shakedown in Sepang, tried to help Acosta in his first steps with the RC16. “Pedro is lucky enough to receive advice from Dani and Pol. It's fantastic to have two riders of this caliber alongside him,” underlined the team director.
When Pol was excluded from racing, one of the “promises” made was that he would race in every wild card possible, which is not going to happen. “Nothing has been decided yet, except that Dani will race in Jerez. This seems quite certain. Everything else will be decided based on the progress of the season, on the races that will serve as tests”, anticipated the German, confirming Pedrosa for the Spanish GP.
“Dani has some favorite circuits where he would like to race. Then there is Pol, who prefers to race today rather than tomorrow”, he declared, acknowledging how much the #44 wants to race, but taking into account the fact that he will not run as many races as expected, given that he has reached an agreement with a television platform to be a commentator.
Pol Espargaró, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“Last year, after his injury, Espargaró wanted to return to being a MotoGP rider as soon as possible. But during the winter he enjoyed being an important member of the test team for us. This also made us improve. He was there with his experience for the drivers and is still very close, whether it is technical issues, driving on the track or how the mechanics treat the drivers. He helps us in all areas and knows how necessary it is. an agreement that we only want to use to relieve our feelings of guilt. Those who follow it recognize that it does not have a negative aspect at the moment”, he admits.
As usual, Pedrosa's intention is to participate in competitions if the need arises to test a new part under live fire conditions. “Of course we have to analyze the project and decide what makes sense to do at that moment. It is necessary to do tests to be able to develop without the pressure of racing. But then we also need to have confirmation of how everything works under the stress of racing”, says the German, before confirming what has already been said: “I don't think we will use the maximum of six wildcards” , which KTM is entitled to this season.
Pedro Acosta, Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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