Pedro Acosta is showing speed from the start again, now at the MotoGP Americas GP. The rider was fifth in yesterday’s practice in Austin, 0.569s behind Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) who led with a new record lap.
Despite the good performance, the Red Bull GasGas Tech3 rookie admitted that this is a very challenging track to adapt to, given its characteristics, but remained optimistic:
– Well, it’s difficult. It’s not the easiest track. If we compare it to Malaysia, for example, which was long, this one is much more difficult. Turns where you can’t see anything, bumps, the bike is shaking a lot, also if you hit a big bump on the straight the front brakes come out and you need to do it twice to see that the brake is working. So, it’s not the easiest, but it’s one that I like. The bike is also working well. We’re on the right track.
Asked if he was able to learn from Francesco Bagnaia’s riding when he followed the Ducati rider during his fastest lap, Acosta confirmed: ‘At the end of the track, in turns 16, 17, and 18, he was fast. You can’t imagine the speed he carries in the middle of the turn. We have something in mind‘.
Regarding the area of the Austin track where he is struggling the most, the Spanish rider replied: ‘Sector 4. In the end, we know the weaknesses of our bike, which are the very long and steep turns, that’s the case. But we are suffering a bit more than usual, so we have something up our sleeve that hopefully will work on Saturday‘.
