Pedro Acosta dominated both Friday practice sessions at the Austrian MotoGP, leading the timesheets at the Red Bull Ring. However, the KTM rider dismissed suggestions that this weekend represents his best chance yet to secure a maiden premier-class victory. "It's still Friday, my man!" he quipped when asked about his prospects.
Acosta set the pace without even fitting a new soft rear tyre for his final run, finishing 0.127s ahead of Gresini Ducati's Fermin Aldeguer. Despite his impressive speed, the Spaniard remained grounded, focusing on areas for improvement with the RC16 ahead of qualifying and the sprint race.
"Satisfied. Everything was working quite well and it’s a good starting point for KTM’s home GP, quite similar to how we started Aragon," Acosta began. "For this, I’m quite happy. It's true that we are still struggling in T3 with this long right Turn 5, and then the long 10, 6, and 7 on the left side. Let's try to improve."
Asked directly if this weekend looks like his best chance to finally become a premier-class grand prix winner, Acosta replied: "F**k, it's still Friday, my man! Still Friday! I don't know, let's see how Ducati and Aprilia improve tomorrow. Aldeguer is fast, Ogura was fast. Last year Bezzecchi was really fast and Aldeguer was showing a really good pace at the end of the race. For this, no pressure, let's see what is going on."
Although Acosta was again the standout KTM rider, team-mate Brad Binder also made it directly into Q2 in seventh. "I'm happy that another KTM is in Q2 also, because I can take a lot of info now. Because Brad was only 0.2s behind me. Also he was faster than me in sector 3, exactly the point that I'm struggling, for this will be interesting."
Acosta was confident enough in his lap time not to use another new soft rear at the end of the session. "Normally I struggle a lot in qualifying and the sprint race, for this I really wanted to see what this soft rear tyre was feeling [after more laps], knowing that it was going to be so difficult for ten guys to improve on my lap time and put me out of Q2. For this, a good day."
This weekend marks Acosta’s final Austrian MotoGP as a KTM rider before moving to factory Ducati in 2027. He has taken 15 podiums and a Sprint victory during his MotoGP career to date, but is still chasing his first Sunday win after 55 starts. Will the wait finally end at Spielberg? Only time will tell.
Baca Juga
MotoGP berencana menerapkan dua sesi kualifikasi per akhir pekan mulai musim depan, meniru format F1. Sprint dan grand prix akan punya kualifikasi terpisah.
Marc Marquez menegaskan Pedro Acosta masih dalam perburuan gelar MotoGP 2026 setelah pembalap KTM itu tampil cepat di sesi latihan GP Austria. Simak selengkapnya.
Jorge Martin lega setelah lengan kanannya tak bermasalah di latihan bebas MotoGP Austria. Ia masih pertimbangkan operasi arm pump.
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