Pedro Acosta makes his debut this year in MotoGP, first of all having to adapt to a category that is very different and more demanding than Moto2. Red Bull GasGas Tech3 will give the rookie time to develop, aware that the adaptation process is long.
Nicolas Goyon, the team manager, told the press: ‘Learning and understanding all the tools to be fast on a MotoGP bike takes almost a year. You need to learn the electronics, you need to learn all the devices, you need to learn the tires. So, it’s a very arduous task, and especially with the current MotoGP bikes, you have so many different components. Now, as we can see, aerodynamics is another important issue. And you need to learn how to play with all these tools. It takes a long time. And even with a competitive rookie, you can see that it takes some time. So, we will give him some time, work properly, calmly, and then we will see what position we can achieve‘.
Acosta’s first contact with the KTM RC16 was at the Valencia test in November last year, leaving a good impression: ‘It is true that we saw that in just one day, at the end of the day, his riding style was already very natural, and this was something surprising. For a rookie to be immediately at this level, to have this – let’s say – MotoGP style after one day was very surprising. The next thing was that, checking the data, we could see that, for example, the brake pressure – something very new for a rookie, you have carbon brakes, the way to brake the bike is very different, so it takes some time to understand. But right after one day, the form was not bad and the braking points were already at a good level. We clearly said: “This is already here, it’s already a good aspect, and let’s see in Sepang what the next phase will be”. But it was already a starting point‘.
Regarding the work that Acosta had to do at home this winter, the Frenchman explained that it focused mainly on physical preparation: ‘It is true that all the part on the bike itself can only be learned on the track. You can’t print a paper, all this has to be learned by riding the bike. The main thing you can develop on your own is physical condition. MotoGP is very demanding, so if you start the Sepang test already in good physical condition, it’s already a good aspect. And I can say that this test is really demanding. This year we will have to ride for six days. It’s a lot. Last year, for example, we only had six days here – it’s one day less, but it counts. Six days is very complicated. And after these days we will know a little better what the potential is and what the next step to learn is. It won’t be easy, but it’s the goal‘.
