‘Nothing is really wrong’ - KTM explains cause of Pedro Acosta’s Assen bike issues

KTM says a sensor issue triggered by running over kerbs led to Pedro Acosta’s bike issues on Saturday morning at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Austrian manufacturer has been beset by technical problems in recent rounds, dating back to the Catalan Grand Prix, where an issue for Pedro Acosta led to a terrifying collision with Alex Marquez.

Acosta had two stoppages on his RC16 on Saturday at the Dutch Grand Prix, while a technical issue knocked him out of last weekend’s Czech Grand Prix, and led to a crash in the sprint.

He put pressure on KTM after the Czech Grand Prix to come up with answers.

Over the Assen weekend, it was reported that KTM has had to turn down its engines due to ongoing issues, and a proper fix won’t come until the German Grand Prix next month.

Sensor issue blamed for Acosta’s Assen bike problems

Speaking ahead of the sprint at Assen on the MotoGP world feed, KTM team boss Aki Ajo explained Acosta’s bike issues: “A MotoGP bike has many sensors to make the bike work, and some of them also for safety races.

“And this morning, when the rider went over the kerbs, let’s say they triggered the emergency mode of the bike and that caused the bike to stop.

“So, there is nothing really wrong with the bike, the rider did everything correct.

“But we needed to react in the correct way and now the problem is solved.

“I would say that he has the correct riding style and he is doing well, but sometimes you arrive to some limits for the values or whatever.

“For sure, Pedro is riding correctly and trying to do his best.

“But when you go over the kerbs, the bike is moving, and there was maybe some value we never reached before, and unfortunately, this morning we did. But not a problem at all, and we hope for a solid race.”

Ajo stressed that the issues that plagued Acosta in FP2 and Q2, with the latter leaving him eighth on the grid, were not related to his Catalan Grand Prix problem.

“I just want to underline that this was nothing to do with the Barcelona problem,” Ajo added.

“It was a different problem, as I explained.”