In his first MotoGP race, Pedro Acosta is a strong contender at the front of the field – but the sensation doesn’t happen because he didn’t use the tires optimally
“To be honest, I don’t know what to say. So many things happened in 40 minutes,” said Pedro Acosta (Tech3-GasGas) after his first Grand Prix in the premier class of MotoGP. The rookie impressed with eighth place in Saturday’s sprint at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, scoring his first world championship points at the first attempt
And Acosta had already demonstrated his talent in qualifying with eighth place on the grid. At the start of the Grand Prix, he accelerated alongside Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) when Jack Miller’s KTM suddenly shot through between the two Spaniards.
“Miller overtook me like a rocket, it was crazy,” says Acosta, who was right in the middle of the MotoGP powder fumes. “It wasn’t the best start, but afterwards everything was super nice.”
The 19-year-old finished the first lap in tenth place. But then he set off fireworks and overtook rider after rider. He looked like a veteran, even though Acosta was only tackling his fourth season in the world championship.
“The feeling for the front tire was super good. I haven’t been able to attack like this since my first Moto3 season. You could see how much speed I was able to carry and only decelerate very late. That was really incredible.”
Acosta overtook Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), last year’s winner Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati), Enea Bastianini (Ducati), who won in Qatar in 2022, and then Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati).
SHARK ALERT! @37_pedroacosta picks off @alexmarquez73! ⚔️QatarGP pic.twitter.com/PQMuiDm26V
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024
Acosta was already in fifth place after five laps. He then followed Marc Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) for a long time. What did Acosta learn from riding with the established stars? “I learned many things, I can’t name one thing. But I saw their mentality.”
“They drove super smooth and didn’t do anything crazy. They didn’t burn the tires, they waited until the end. Nevertheless, they drove very fast. Maybe I didn’t have the pace to ride with them to the end.”
Acosta was also able to overtake Marc Marquez in the end. “It was quite tricky to overtake him because I couldn’t make a mistake. He braked later than me. It was super nice to be on the track with him and to have this duel. “
Surely not! @37_pedroacosta has just DIVED underneath @marcmarquez93 on his debut! QatarGP pic.twitter.com/MU2z5rTAKH
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024
He then closed the gap to the podium positions, but his lap times slowed in the final third of the race. Acosta set high 1:52 laps until lap 13. After that, he struggled to set high 1:53 laps at all.
A trend that was to be expected. “When he overtook me,” says Alex Marquez, “I said to myself that he could ride. I didn’t want to lose any time. Then I saw that he was riding like he was in qualifying mode.”
“I would have been surprised if he had got to the end like that. He did well, but he has to manage it and get to the finish. It’s a matter of time before he gains that experience.”
He’s wide! ⚠️@37_pedroacosta relinquishes 4th back to @marcmarquez93! QatarGP pic.twitter.com/kg99dYGY4l
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024
Acosta was eventually relegated to ninth place. “Maybe I burned the tires too much at the beginning,” he said. “I knew that my tire management wasn’t the best.”
“You could see the tire smoking at the exit of turn 10, but that also makes for nice TV pictures,” laughs the rookie. “I have to manage the tires better, because that didn’t work today. The bike was perfect.”
“Maybe I was too optimistic and went full throttle. But I also have to be satisfied that I made such mistakes because I now have more information for Portimao. Yesterday [in the sprint] I made a lot more mistakes in the race over eleven laps. “
That was an INCREDIBLE debut weekend!
The hype is real, @37_pedroacosta! QatarGP pic.twitter.com/HkPpvLpFtJ
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024
In addition to tire management, Acosta also writes better starts in his mission statement. Because if he is in the leading group right from the start, he can keep up the pace in the first half of the race and manage the tires better.
On his first MotoGP weekend, the reigning Moto2 World Champion made headlines around the world. How does he deal with this euphoria himself? “In my first Moto3 season, I had more attention than the big boys. But what does that mean? Nothing. When microphones and cameras come, you decide for yourself whether you want to listen or not. “
