Why Pedro Acosta credits MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa for Portugal podium

KTM MotoGP rider Pedro Acosta has revealed how Dani Pedrosa helped him claim a podium in Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old fought hard for victory in the sprint on Saturday, narrowly missing a maiden victory by just 0.120s to Gresini’s Alex Marquez.

This set him up for an assault on the win in the 25-lap grand prix, though this never materialised as he quickly found himself cast off into third.

Pedro Acosta did rally late on to put Marquez under pressure for second, but had to settle for the final step of the podium.

In parc ferme, Acosta credited KTM test rider and 31-time MotoGP race winner Dani Pedrosa for helping him to the win.

When asked how, Acosta told TNT Sport: “Well, I mean Dani has a lot of experience and we were just talking about the race from yesterday and trying to manage it in a different way.

“In the end, it’s still just my second season in MotoGP, I still have many things that maybe when I’m too hot or want to be in front, like yesterday, I’m making small mistakes.

“We know that we have many weak points, and for this, it’s about becoming a better rider.

“Dani is, if not the best, one of the best for those things. He’s doing a great job.”

He later added in the press conference: “Now I maybe use him more than last year. But super thankful to have him and for the job he is doing for me.”

Acosta explained that his lack of pace in the early stages of the grand prix was down to a lack of grip, which improved too late for him to take second from Marquez.

“Well, it’s difficult to battle when already from the beginning we have less grip,” he said.

“It’s true that at the end I was quite fast, like yesterday, but we lost a lot at the beginning.

“It’s something we have to think about, because even today I was missing one lap to be second.

“But, we have to be happy. Again, back-to-back podiums, we showed good potential even in difficult races.”