Pedro Acosta decided to back off and secure a podium finish at the Misano MotoGP after nearly crashing into the rider ahead. The Red Bull KTM star admitted he had a scare when his front wheel locked at Turn 7, forcing him to reduce his pace while closing in on the Marquez brothers.
The race weekend proved to be one of the toughest for Acosta. Throughout practice and qualifying, he struggled to find a good feeling with the RC16, especially under braking. Starting from ninth on the grid, he had to work hard to carve his way to the front.
However, a major setup change made by the team on Friday night paid off. Acosta was more competitive in the race, even setting his fastest lap on lap 23 of 27. He began to close in on Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez who were leading the race.
“I had a moment when I locked the front at Turn 7. At that point I thought, 'Okay, now it's time to chill a bit',” Acosta said. “I had a good gap to Aldeguer behind, so P3 was more than enough considering how tough this weekend was.”
Despite finishing third, Acosta rated his performance at Misano higher than his second-place ride at Aragon. “Overall, this race was much better than Aragon,” he stated. “We fought with Ducatis and Aprilias, and that's not easy.”
With this result, Acosta moved up to fifth in the championship standings, overtaking the injured Ai Ogura. He now has enough points to keep fighting at the front, although he still trails the Ducati and Aprilia riders.
Acosta will return to Misano in 2027, but not as a KTM rider—he will be Marc Marquez's teammate at the factory Ducati team. Certainly, this valuable experience at Misano will serve him well in the coming seasons.
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