Lap times prove Pedro Acosta gains but his KTM can't do what the Ducati does
Pedro Acosta explained front tyre issues cost him a shot at a podium in the Austrian MotoGP, but praised KTM’s progress.
Pedro Acosta came close to extending his rostrum streak to four in a row at the Red Bull Ring, KTM's home round, but ultimately had to settle for fourth in Sunday’s Austrian MotoGP.
The Spaniard briefly held third place with ten laps to go, overtaking a fading Francesco Bagnaia, but was passed by Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer, who charged through to claim second behind Marc Marquez.
Acosta then settled for a safe fourth place, 3.4s from Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) and two seconds clear of Tech3's Enea Bastianini.
Pedro Acosta points out his KTM's limitation
The young Spaniard praised the latest RC16 aero, which debuted in Austria, but said turning remained the main limitation against the likes of Ducati and Aprilia.
“We pushed until we destroyed the front tyre,” Acosta admitted.
“We’ve improved a lot the management of the front tyre, but at the end we are still forcing the front more than the rest to turn.
“It’s never easy but we have to be happy. We’ve been in the top five all through the weekend.
“We made a big step with our race time and our potential here. I was like 30 seconds from first last year and this year was 7 seconds.
“KTM still has some things in the pocket. It's true that not a lot for this year, but we’re still learning.
“We’ve been super-fast at Brno, a completely different layout, and here where normally KTM suffer we were really close to the podium.
“Let’s go to Balaton Park now.”
Acosta will arrive in Hungary tied on points with VR46 Ducati riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio di Giannantonio for fifth in the MotoGP standings.
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