– After Pedro Acosta’s second place at the MotoGP race in Aragon, there was a party atmosphere in the KTM box. His crew chief Paul Trevathan praised Acosta’s performance immediately after the finish, as he was only narrowly beaten by Marc Marquez.
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“He is a legend,” said Trevathan. “He had a fantastic weekend overall. He made no real mistakes and raises his riding level from week to week to a new level.”
Once again, Acosta was by far the best KTM rider at MotorLand Aragon. Enea Bastianini finished eighth and Brad Binder tenth. Acosta is the only KTM rider this season who has stood on the podium so far.
It was his fourth podium finish in a main race this season. With 14 podiums, Acosta is the KTM rider with the most podiums in MotoGP. However, he is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win.
Moreover, no rider in MotoGP history has stood on the podium more often without winning a race. Second in this statistic is Colin Edwards with twelve podiums without a win.
“There is still a long way to go to become a legend,” Acosta himself says about his crew chief’s words, “but I believe we are doing the right things. We are racing well.”
“Considering all the reliability problems we had in the first half of the season, it was quite difficult to watch how the third place in the championship slipped away from us.”
“Now it looks like it’s working. It’s true that we are still far from winning a race. On the other hand, we are managing to finish more consistently in the top 5.”
His best MotoGP race was not Aragon
Was Aragon perhaps his best MotoGP race because he was able to put pressure on Marc Marquez on one of his strongest tracks? “I would say Silverstone two weeks ago,” Acosta names another race.
In Great Britain, he finished fifth. “I have difficulties on flowing tracks. At Silverstone, I was probably for the first time close to competing in a race on such a track until the end.”
“And that despite the tire wear we struggled with. I think Silverstone was my best race so far, even significantly better than some podiums I have achieved.”
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Maturation process compared to last year
This assessment shows Acosta’s maturation process in his third MotoGP season. Last year, there were initially many mistakes and a lot of frustration. Only from summer onwards was Acosta able to stabilize his performance and achieve podiums again.
“Well, I know that last year maybe, I wouldn’t say I was unprofessional, but I was really angry at life, I would say. I let my emotions flow very strongly into everything.”
“Now I perhaps keep these emotions a bit more at a distance. It seems my head is cooler because of that. I can think better in crucial moments and recognize what I need to do to be fast.”
“This difficult phase last year helped me a lot,” says Acosta about his maturation process. His performance is also extremely important for KTM, because without him they would not regularly be in the top field.
Test rider Pol Espargaro sums it up: “He gets much more out of the bike than it can actually deliver. I have no words for what he achieved in Silverstone, but in Aragon it was insane.”
“For everyone at the factory, this is like a big boost. It will help us to keep pushing for Pedro, because he deserves the best possible material and bike for the upcoming races.”
What is still missing for the first win?
Acosta will compete for KTM for nine more race weekends before moving to Ducati. His first Grand Prix win is the big goal. KTM has also been waiting for a win on Sunday since 2022.
What does Acosta still lack to achieve this goal? “Well, many things are missing,” he answers this question. “At the moment, however, I want to focus on what I have.”
“Over short distances, we still lack a lot, especially in qualifying. Normally, I have difficulties getting into the first starting row, which usually gives you a certain advantage at the start of a race.”
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“But as I said: At the moment I want to focus on the things that can help me win a race and not on what I lack.” In the world championship standings, Acosta is in sixth place after the 13th of 22 race weekends.
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