Pedro Acosta says he and KTM were able to “save the day” after suffering “problem after problem” on Saturday in the Japanese Grand Prix sprint race.
Having scored his maiden pole position at Motegi last year and finished second in practice on Friday, Acosta was a strong contender for a front-row spot in Saturday’s qualifying.
However, disaster struck at the start of Q2 as he began to slow down with what appeared to be a ride-height device issue.
The Spaniard was forced to abort his first run and head back to the pits, and it wasn’t until the final five minutes of the session that he returned on track on his second bike.
Despite having limited time onboard, he managed to post the fourth-fastest time of qualifying, just 0.158s behind polesitter Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati.
After arriving at his grid spot in idle gear to save fuel, Acosta made a strong launch in the sprint to grab third place on the opening lap from Marquez, before overtaking the Honda of Joan Mir on the second lap.
However, he couldn’t maintain the same speed in the latter part of the race, dropping behind Marquez into third and also coming under threat from Mir.
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Nevertheless, Acosta was happy to salvage a podium finish in the sprint, especially with none of his KTM stablemates finishing inside the top 10.
“Considering the mistakes we made today, the truth is that it didn’t go too badly,” he said. “We have the potential to do better, but it’s true that despite all the problems, we managed to save the day.
“Thanks to the team, they didn’t get nervous with everything that happened. We have to avoid mistakes and be more precise.
He added: “It wasn’t an easy Saturday, it was problem after problem after problem. We managed to get ourselves out of the hole a little bit. The race wasn’t easy either, because we had to change a few things for safety reasons.
“These were things that had been in place for a long time, and to have them changed for the race, to have to get back into position with only the warm-up lap, it wasn’t easy and it took a bit more of a toll than we thought.
“But I think we have to be happy. It wasn’t a very consistent race, but it was a good one. We’re staying where I wanted us to be, which was always in the top five. Little by little, we’re getting closer to the consistency we want.”
Asked to explain the changes that were made to the RC16 for safety reasons, Acosta did not provide a clear answer: “I don’t know. They told me to say ‘I don’t know’. It was silly, but it’s not easy to change things for the race.”
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
The 21-year-old further explained that he also suffered issues with the KTM’s throttle, which made it harder for him to string a clean lap in qualifying.
“I don’t know what happened, I really don’t know,” he said. “But anyway, it happened because it had to happen, and better in qualifying than in the race.
“It was a bit difficult because I only had two laps and I lacked a bit of intensity throughout qualifying, but we have to be happy. All things considered, the race was relatively error-free, and Pecco and Marc were a step ahead of the rest.
“We’ve been working well for a few races now, and last year I was very fast here. I think Motegi suits my style well, with the KTM’s braking. It’s true that the other KTMs are struggling a bit, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re fast again.”
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