Pedro Acosta capped off a challenging MotoGP weekend at Misano with a strong podium finish, after demanding a radical overhaul of his KTM RC16. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider struggled with braking confidence on Friday and Saturday, something he hadn't experienced in three years with KTM.
Frustrated with his qualifying and sprint results, Acosta urged his technical crew to make sweeping changes. “They completely turned the bike upside down,” Acosta said. “It's very unusual for me to feel so uncomfortable braking on the KTM. That hasn't happened in three years. On Saturday night I said something must be wrong and they had to find every possible solution, because we knew the speed was there.”
The changes paid off in Sunday's Warm Up, where Acosta immediately felt a difference. “Sometimes you have to put a bit of pressure on the technicians. In Warm Up we already felt a step forward. And on Sunday I wake up differently anyway. I wake up to race,” he added.
In the 27-lap race, Acosta impressed with his ability to manage pace and build his performance. “This was one of my best races in terms of riding. The pace wasn't the same every lap, but there were moments when I had to push and moments when I could take it easier,” he explained.
That skill, according to Acosta, was something he could hardly develop in Moto2. “You don't learn that in Moto2, because there you have to go full throttle from start to finish. I enjoyed this much more than Aragon and made some nice overtakes.”
However, Acosta rued his starting position, believing he could have challenged Alex Marquez more closely. “It's a shame I couldn't start further forward. Maybe then I could have been closer to Alex. But we managed to open a decent gap to the other KTM riders,” he said.
Acosta's performance drew praise, including from Pol Espargaro, who compared him to Marc Marquez. The young Spaniard remained humble. “I hope so. I give my maximum every day. One day I'm on the podium, like in Aragon, another day maybe sixth. The important thing is to keep scoring points. They can be crucial at the end of the year,” he concluded.
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