The rider from Mazarrón will get on the KTM RC16 in Jerez on Monday, awarded by his team after finishing as ‘rookie’ of the year in the Moto2 category
Pedro Acosta travels to Jerez this weekend to test one of the MotoGP bikes. The pilot from Puerto de Mazarrón will drive the RC16 of his team, KTM, this Monday in a private test that will be led by Dani Pedrosa and that the Austrian brand will conduct on the Andalusian circuit, along with some of the teams belonging to it the company own Mattighofen factory within the Moto2 and Moto3 categories. The team’s initial plan is for Acosta to hit the track with Pedrosa during the second part of the test day and the decision has been made by the KTM managers, who thus want to reward him for finishing the season as the best rookie in the intermediate class of Moto2. He finished fifth overall and best rookie.
The Austrian marque has placed every confidence in the Mazarrón rider after the achievements that blossomed in 2021, which saw him named Moto3 champion in his debut year in the World Championship. The reward was therefore a long-term contract with the House of Mattighofen. KTM has no intention of letting Acosta get away. Hence small rewards arrive, like next Monday, which others like Álex Márquez (in 2014 with Honda after becoming Moto3 champion) or Pecco Bagnaia (in 2016 with Ducati after winning a bet with Aspar) are already enjoying.
Offers are not lacking for Acosta, but he wants to make the jump to MotoGP with his current team in 2024. This is acknowledged in an interview with ‘Diari de Tarragona’. “There was the option to go to MotoGP, but I didn’t feel prepared and it’s not worth going up there and throwing away a year of my life by going to MotoGP too early. I think everything has its moment in life and next year I didn’t play. I have to do well in Moto2 before I feel ready to jump,” explained the ‘Tiburón de Mazarrón’.
Acosta even said that “when I was asked to sign for a MotoGP team in May I didn’t feel prepared because I had four clean sheets in a row, I hadn’t had any podium finishes or been really competitive except at Le Mans. Things got better from there with the win in Mugello, the sixth in Montmeló, second in Germany… Except for Thailand and Malaysia, I’ve finished all races in the top six, so we’re reaching the level we wanted from the start of the season ».
He is already thinking about next season. “My goal is to fight for the title in 2023 or have a season where I feel like I’m ready. You don’t have to come into MotoGP at any cost, you have to arrive prepared and I’m taking these years as preparation for the jump. On my debut in Moto2 I think all the ambition I had took its toll. I arrived and wanted to eat the world on the first day, but the world put me in my place and it was hard for me to understand that if it’s not your time, it’s not your time,” he confessed.
“I would like to go hand-in-hand with KTM. After all, it was the brand that believed in me and allowed me to move from the Spanish Championship to Moto3 and this year to Moto2. I think they’re fine,” said an Acosta who does not want to take false steps on the way to the elite.
Pedro Acosta will be honored in his city during the fourth edition of the Mazarrón Moto Lunch, which will be held on December 4. The event will take place at the exhibition grounds and will start at 9:30 am. There will be lunch, a slow contest, a talk with Toni Ninja and an exhibition by Plácido 666, as well as raffles, prizes and a performance by DJ Little Nookie. The tribute to Acosta starts at 1 p.m. Fans who wish to attend must do so in the afternoon prior to the concentration or in the morning itself, at a cost of 8 euros. With the ticket they receive a t-shirt, a drink, a plate of paella and a ticket for a tombola for a tour or motorcycle equipment. The main item of the raffle is a helmet signed by Pedro Acosta, who returns to Mazarrón to take a mass bath with his people after finishing fifth in the year of his debut in the Moto2 World Championship.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
