Pedro Acosta reveals tyre and qualifying
KTM's Pedro Acosta finished second to Marc Marquez at Aragon, stating he could not push harder without destroying his tyres and citing qualifying as a key
Pedro Acosta says he would have destroyed his tyres if he had maintained his challenge against Marc Marquez for victory at the Aragon Grand Prix. The 22-year-old factory KTM rider finished just 1.7 seconds behind the Ducati rider in second place after a race-long pursuit.
Acosta produced a standout performance at MotorLand Aragon. He surged from sixth to third early on and executed a brilliant pass on Marco Bezzecchi on lap six. This move put him directly behind race leader Marquez. For the next phase of the race, Acosta kept the pressure on, preventing Marquez from building a comfortable lead.
The challenge ended on lap 13. Marquez increased his pace, dipping into the 1 minute 46 seconds bracket. Acosta was forced to concede, securing a valiant second place. Speaking to Motorsport.com afterwards, the Spaniard admitted he extracted the maximum from his package. "We’ve got the most out of what we had," Acosta said. He revealed the critical calculation he made mid-race. "The intention to catch Marc was there, but the potential we had was another matter."
Tyre management demands style change
Tyre wear has historically been a KTM weakness, though the manufacturer has made progress over the last 18 months. Acosta stated he is actively altering his riding style to cope. "Normally, I'm the one that always goes more tight inside the corners and uses more tyres than everyone else," he explained. "And now I'm trying to change my style a bit." The rookie believes this adaptation is essential for future success. "At the end, if I want to be ready when my moment arrives, I need to start to see all the options and see all the ways of racing."
Qualifying deficit a key hurdle
Acosta identified one-lap pace as a significant factor holding him back. He often qualifies behind his Ducati and Aprilia rivals, forcing him to fight through the pack on race day. Over the first 13 rounds of the season, his qualifying record highlights the issue.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Front row qualifications | 3 |
| Average starting position | 6th |
Asked what his bike is missing to achieve a maiden MotoGP win, Acosta was candid. "It’s missing many things," he said. He chooses to focus on the tools he has. "In the end, I'm missing a lot in the short distance, especially in qualifying."
Engine update impact unclear
Ahead of the Aragon weekend, KTM received permission from rival manufacturers to unseal its engine. This allowed fixes for reliability problems that had forced the team to run at reduced power earlier in the season. The podium in Aragon followed this update, but Acosta insisted there was no direct correlation. "The KTM has always performed quite well here," he noted, referencing his previous podiums at the circuit. He said he felt no noticeable performance difference from the engine changes during the weekend. The true test, according to Acosta, will come at tracks where the bike previously struggled. "Now we need to see how we get on at the circuits that went our way last season."
