Pedro Acosta quips second Austrian MotoGP crash could be a good omen
Pedro Acosta says his warm-up mistakes are usually followed by strong MotoGP races after suffering a second crash at the Red Bull Ring.
After crashing from a comfortable lead late in the Austrian MotoGP Sprint, Pedro Acosta returned to action in Sunday morning's warm-up - and fell again.
Caught out at the chicane while looking at his dash in the Sprint, the KTM rider suffered a faster accident at the end of warm-up, sending his RC16 bouncing through the Turn 9 gravel.
Fortunately, Acosta was again unharmed and still finished the session third, behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Ducati’s Marc Marquez.
“Well, normally when I f**k up in the warm-ups, I perform quite well in races!” Acosta quipped during the riders’ parade.
"It's true that the bike yesterday was feeling perfect, and today was feeling not so bad, [even] using the soft front.
“For this, let's see what pace these guys put on track, and then if we can follow.”
The soft front may have contributed to Acosta’s warm-up fall, with the medium compound needed for the grand prix.
Like most riders, Acosta switched to the medium rear in warm-up as he prepared for KTM’s home 28-lap race, where he will again chase a long-awaited maiden MotoGP victory.
“I prefer not to think about whether I can win, because like I said yesterday, I made maybe the most unusual mistake by myself. For this let's try to don't make it again,” Acosta said.
Acosta wasn't the only KTM rider in the gravel during warm-up, with team-mate Brad Binder thrown into a highside at Turn 4 and failing to record a lap time.
“I turned in, no gas... I think it was a cold tyre,” Binder said during the parade.
Marc Marquez, who lost the championship lead to Jorge Martin after finishing second in the Sprint, said he'd happily take another runner-up finish today:
“If I can repeat the same result, I will be super happy, but it will be more difficult because it will be a very long race. I mean, the bike character is changing a lot from the beginning to the end [with the tyre wear], so we need to understand well what we can do.
“Last year was easier!” added the defending Austrian MotoGP winner. “This year will be more difficult [to win] and but we’ll try to take the maximum points possible.”
Jorge Martin, fourth in warm-up, sounded more confident as he chases his first grand prix victory since Le Mans.
“I feel really good. I think today I have another good opportunity,” said the Spaniard, who fought back from eighth, after an opening lap tangle with Marquez, to win the Sprint.
“For sure, the opponents are strong, but I feel like one of the top contenders for today.
“Let's try to do a great start, not take any risk at the beginning, and then it will be a really long race.”
Team-mate Bezzecchi, fastest for the first time this weekend, insisted he remains a step behind.
“As you saw during the weekend, Pedro, Jorge and Marc, they've been super quick, so I'm in fourth place, I'll try my best to stay close to them and, hopefully, I will have the pace to attack,” said the Italian.
Alex Marquez: I'll stay and chill during the Pirelli test
Gresini’s Alex Marquez, who joins the factory KTM team in 2027, revealed he will stay for Monday’s 850cc/Pirelli test despite not being permitted to ride.
“Tomorrow I will stay here for the test - I will not test, but just to take a look because, you know, I’m not allowed to try nothing!” said Alex, who, like the other Ducati riders, has battled rear-grip issues this weekend.
“I will have a nice lunch up there on the top of the hill, in the hotel, and chill.”
The 28-lap Austrian Grand Prix, the final European race before the flyaways, starts at 2pm local time, 1pm UK.
Tags:
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
