Pedro Acosta kicked off the Austrian MotoGP weekend in perfect fashion, leading the first free practice (FP1) at the Red Bull Ring on Friday. The KTM rider set the benchmark time of 1m29.851s, ahead of a surprising Pol Espargaro in second.
Acosta, who will move to Ducati next season, seems determined to give KTM a farewell gift at Red Bull's home race. From the start, he was untouchable at the top. Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro, standing in for Maverick Vinales at Tech3 KTM, recovered from an early crash to snatch second, just 0.233s adrift, thanks to fresh tyres at the end of the session.
Joint championship leader Jorge Martin had to switch to his spare Aprilia after a technical problem in the opening minutes. Nevertheless, he was second until Espargaro's late charge, eventually finishing third, 0.308s behind. Martin is optimistic that the nature of the Red Bull Ring layout will not trigger the arm pump issue that caused his Misano slump last weekend, which allowed Marc Marquez to draw level on points and lead on countback.
Marc Marquez had to settle for fourth, 0.335s off Acosta. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco was the top Honda in fifth, followed by Marco Bezzecchi in sixth. Alex Marquez, who was inside the top five, dropped to eighth after running through the gravel when part of the aero on his Gresini Ducati came loose.
The FP1 results show that KTM is ready to put up a fierce fight on home soil, with Acosta and Espargaro dominating. However, the championship battle remains tight between Martin and Marquez, separated by mere tenths. Qualifying and the race will be the true test for the riders.
Here are the full FP1 results from the Austrian MotoGP:
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