Pedro Acosta picks “moment to attack” for “unexpected” MotoGP Sprint win
Pedro Acosta explains how he picked his moment to attack Ai Ogura and claim a "totally unexpected" Malaysian MotoGP Sprint victory.
Pedro Acosta got the better of surprise Sepang Sprint leader Ai Ogura to claim his own “totally unexpected” victory on Saturday in Malaysia.
Acosta, whose only previous Sprint win came at the Buriram season opener, spent the early stages in third place behind polesitter Alex Marquez and a charging Ogura.
When Alex crashed out on lap three, Ogura led a four-rider victory battle also featuring title contenders Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi.
Increasing raindrops added to the tension, but Acosta kept his composure to launch a race-winning pass with three laps to go.
“It was totally unexpected,” Acosta told MotoGP.com.
“I was maintaining a good pace with Ai, who was really the surprise of the race, because he didn’t show that pace during the whole weekend.
“But it was difficult to be close and try to make a pass when it was full dry.
“Then, when it started to rain, I said, ‘Okay, it's my moment to attack’. I mean, we were the only two that were not fighting for anything in that lead group.
“I tried not to make any big mistakes, because normally when it's mixed conditions, I always f**ked up!
“But, anyway, we have to be happy today.”
Although the rain was heavy enough to prompt five riders to pit for their wet-weather bikes, staying out proved the right decision.
But only just, with a heavy downpour arriving moments after Acosta took the chequered flag.
“It was raining, but the brakes were still hot. For this, it was quite under control,” Acosta said.
“In the last two laps it started to rain a bit more, mainly in T2, T3, and this was making everything difficult even when I was leading the race.”
Marc Marquez was Acosta's nearest rival in those closing laps, but the KTM rider knew his future team-mate had the World Championship to think about.
“Well, he's fighting for the championship. And with the big opportunity that he has this weekend [after Jorge Martin withdrew], I think he was not gonna make a massive push to try to win the race, also because he was already in front of Marco [Bezzecchi].”
Rain is again forecast as a major risk for Sunday's Grand Prix, which Acosta will start from the front row alongside Alex and Marc Marquez.
“Malaysia is really tough about the weather, but I think we are ready for everything,” he said.
“It could be a totally different race compared to today, managing the tyres a lot to try to arrive at the end in a proper shape.
“Let's see what is going on.”
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.
