Marc Marquez “did it with Valentino Rossi, and now I’ve done it…”

“You have to be a nuisance. Stick your head out and cause a stir!"

Rossi and Marquez
Rossi and Marquez

Pedro Acosta has offered a cheeky verdict of the overtake which gained him major attention within the MotoGP paddock.

Rookie Acosta zipped past the mighty Marc Marquez at the Qatar MotoGP.

It elicited memories of a young Marquez upsetting established greats like Valentino Rossi when he emerged in 2013.

"It seems easier on TV than how I experienced it,” Acosta said about overtaking Marquez.

“He did it with Rossi, and now I've done it.

“You have to be a nuisance. Stick your head out and cause a stir. It was beautiful."

Acosta then became the third-youngest podium finisher in MotoGP history at the most recent round in Portimao.

"I hope everything stays as beautiful as it is now,” the teenager said.

“I'm having fun and getting paid for what I do, what more could I want!"

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Acosta, 19, is the Moto2 champion and his demand to step into MotoGP this year caused KTM a major reshuffle, in order to keep hold of the prodigious talent.

Pol Espargaro was the victim of his emergence, losing his full-time race seat.

With the Tech3 GASGAS team, Acosta arrived at the Qatar season-opener adjusting to his new environment yet still tipped for big things.

"Well, I changed teams, I changed chief mechanics, I changed everything,” he said.

“And that was the first real race I did because the sprint on Saturday is a warm-up for Sunday.

“So, I arrived, took off my helmet, they approached me and whispered in my ear: 'You just go for it.'

“And I went and gave it my all."

Acosta is the most hyped rookie in MotoGP since Marquez himself in 2013.

Of course, back then, Moto2 champion Marquez immediately won the premier class title in his rookie year.

Acosta, on less competitive machinery in the era of Ducati today, is not expected to fly quite so high.

But the likes of Jorge Lorenzo insist that he will win a grand prix this year.

Acosta reflected on his journey: "In the end, I see how much I've changed since I've been in the Championship.

“I arrived at 16, and now I'm almost 20, so I've changed.

“The first year went very well, the third went very well, but the second was tough, it was difficult at the beginning, and I think I'm different now compared to the rider I was when I started.

“If I hadn't learned and matured, I would have been kicked out of the Championship because my pace of breaking bikes wasn't normal."

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