In Portimao, Pedro Acosta rides clear of his KTM brand colleagues Brad Binder and Jack Miller – but both praise the talent and class of the rookie
In just his second Grand Prix, MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta blew away his experienced KTM brand colleagues Brad Binder and Jack Miller. In the starting phase in Portimao, Acosta was initially between Miller and Binder in seventh place until he was overtaken by Binder on lap three
But once the riders had found their race rhythm, Acosta turned up the heat. Binder caught Miller at the start of the fifth lap in turn 1 and pushed his teammate slightly to the outside. Acosta followed on the inside.
“I had no chance [to defend myself],” Miller commented on this scene. “Brad and I got quite close in the braking zone. I then came onto the kerb and the door was open for Pedro.”
But Acosta was not to stay behind Binder for long. At the start of the seventh lap, he overtook the South African in turn 1 and quickly pulled away from the KTM duo. “When he overtook me, he just rolled, didn’t he?” laughed Binder and praised: “He’s really special.”
“The way he controls the bike! He picks up a lot of cornering speed and sets the bike up very nicely. He is in a class of his own. You have to congratulate him. He really deserves this podium place.”
Miller also agrees with this praise: “Pedro rode fantastically. When he passed Brad, he dropped the hammer. I mean, Brad and I had our tongues hanging out trying to catch him. But there was nothing we could do.”
Miller also observed Acosta’s riding style behind him: “He’s not even sitting on the bike, he’s hanging off it. Everything touches the ground. It looks like his helmet is also touching the ground. His style is very impressive, especially when you see it from behind. “
“He can move the bike the way he wants. This is positive because we have improved the KTM over the past twelve months. He uses this to his full advantage. Now we have to take him as a reference and understand what he does.”
Miller makes no secret of the fact that he can take Acosta as a role model: “I’m 29, but I can still learn. My style has changed a lot compared to 2016, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. I have to keep working.”
After two race weekends, Binder is second in the World Championship with 42 points. Acosta follows in fifth place with 28 points. Miller didn’t post at all at the season opener in Qatar and most recently collected 16 points in Portimao.
Miller and Binder do not hide the fact that Acosta stole the show in Portugal with third place. Binder even emphasizes how good it is to have such a strong rider in the KTM family with Acosta
“I think my biggest blessing as a rider is that I’ve always had teammates who have really pushed me,” says Binder. “I’ve always had good teammates. You can see that as a blessing or a curse.”
“But it’s always been good for me. Together we can continue to attack and try to move the whole project forward.” Nevertheless, Binder also admits that it is “more difficult now” for a rookie than in 2020, when he joined the premier class.
