KTM motorsport boss Pit Beirer is pleased with Pedro Acosta and sees a normal learning process – A MotoGP promotion will not be rushed
Moto3 World Champion Pedro Acosta experienced a first half of the Moto2 season with ups and downs. From a sporting point of view, the 18-year-old needed some time to get it all together. It didn’t turn out to be a runaway success like in the small class.
“I think he crashed a bit more than everyone thought,” says KTM motorsport boss Pit Beirer. In fact, the crash statistics for Acosta already throw up ten crashes. Only the Brits Sam Lowes and Jake Dixon were on the nose more often, namely twelve times.
But in Le Mans the knot burst. Acosta led a Moto2 race for the first time, but then crashed out. Two weeks later, he took his first Moto2 victory at Mugello. At the Sachsenring the Spaniard finished second on the podium.
The fact that Acosta needed some time to get these top results is the natural development, according to Beirer: “Before Qatar, the only topic was which of our four riders we would kick out if Acosta moved up.”
“That’s when everyone thought he would march through Moto2 as well, like it was kindergarten. It’s a question of time. Whether it takes him ten races or 15 or five, it doesn’t really matter. “
The big setback then happened directly after the Sachsenring. During motocross practice Acosta broke his left leg and had to have surgery. That’s why he missed Assen. Fortunately for him, there is now the long summer break of more than a month.
Acosta is 71 points behind in the World Championship standings. When he returns after the injury, it will be a matter of gaining more experience and building on the performance of Mugello. The youngster has no pressure.
“We have agreed with him that we want to ride Moto2 with him for two years,” Beirer holds. “We don’t want the crazy climb on a thin sheet of ice. Next year I think the Moto2 title will already go through him. “
“Then he would be perfectly prepared to move up to the big class. Working with him is a lot of fun. He is a special boy, a cheerful nature. After falls, he consoled us instead of us consoling him. We are lucky bastards’ is his favourite saying. He infects the whole team with his joy. “
