Pedro Acosta is happy to be doing much better just five days after his highside in Australia – but there are still question marks over the Thailand weekend.
The reason for Acosta missing a race in the premier class for the first time in his still young career was his crash the day before. In the sprint of the Australian weekend, the rookie was thrown off his Tech3-KTM by a highside in turn 6 of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. He then complained of pain in his left shoulder.
Apart from the pain, the biggest problem for Acosta was that he could only move his left arm to a very limited extent. Last Sunday, the 20-year-old Spaniard was only able to bend his arm upwards about 20 degrees. On Thursday in Buriram, he regained full mobility.
A nasty highside for @37_pedroacosta late on in the race
Pedro is off to the medical center for a check up AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/dMjFKse4qE
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 19, 2024
Acosta did not suffer a broken bone in the highside crash on Phillip Island Saturday, and he does not need surgery either, as he says. “It was the case that the ligaments were partially torn,” he says. The ligament injury meant that the arm “jumped in and out of the joint in a rather adventurous way,” says Acosta, adding, “But it has improved significantly over the past few days. I’m pleased about that.”
Acosta has been given the all-clear by the doctors to take part in the first free practice session in Buriram, which is scheduled for Friday morning. He will have another check-up after the 45-minute opening session of the Thailand weekend. And based on that, a decision will be made as to whether he can continue the race weekend or not.
“We’ll have to wait and see how it goes. The good thing is that I now have full mobility again without pain. The only time I feel pain is when I touch the shoulder,” says Acosta. When asked how long he expects it to take for the injury to heal completely, he replies, “The doctors say a few weeks, but it’s hard to say exactly how long.”
Acosta caught people’s attention at the two race weekends before the Australian weekend on Phillip Island. He finished the Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika just behind winner Jorge Martin in second place, although it was only hours later that he knew for sure that he could actually keep his second place.
On the Japanese weekend in Motegi, Acosta took his first pole in the premier class. In the sprint, he crashed while in the lead, and in the Grand Prix, he crashed while in second place. In the 2024 MotoGP crash statistics, the rookie is currently the frontrunner with 24 crashes. However, Acosta’s talent is beyond question.
When asked when he expects to suffer his first injury as a MotoGP rider, Acosta says: “These things happen. Sure, it’s not the best time. But let’s see how I get on this weekend here [in Thailand].”
