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MotoGP, Acosta: "Vinales' comments were positive, he will be competitive with the KTM"

"I rode with him a little bit today and it went well. I didn't listen to Enea's comments much, since he destroyed the bike. I'm happy and at peace: I'm happy to have found the people I grew up with again."

MotoGP: Acosta:

Pedro Acosta 's first test as an official KTM rider ended with the ninth fastest time, just under eight tenths off the top of the timesheets. It was a positive day for the Spanish rider, who sported the #37 for the first time on his RC16, completing a total of 61 laps.

"I worked all day on aerodynamics trying four or five new fairings on my old bike, while Binder focused more on electronics. I'm happy because we came to some conclusions about the aerodynamics," Pedro said at the end of the day, recounting the work done. "We didn't try anything to improve grip, we focused more on the front, because the bike wheelies a lot, the handlebars move a lot and sometimes the bike goes a little crazy. Which configuration did I like best? The problem is that I liked one thing about one and one thing about another. We tested a lot of good things, and many of the KTM riders tried some specs that they liked. The comments were all in the same direction, and I'm happy about that."

Speaking about the comments of the two new Tech3 riders, he added, "Vinales' were very positive. Bastianini's, after crashing and destroying the bike, I didn't listen to them much. Today I rode a little bit with Maverick, because I had to do some aerodynamic testing and I needed someone in front who was fast, and he was the fastest on the team after me at that time. He rode well and will be competitive."

The 20-year-old went on to explain how the KTM has improved with the new aerodynamics he tested today,"It's a bit calmer and that's important, because our bike moves a lot, you can see it even from the TV, and so it's not easy at the level of tires and traction. It is also important to have in the other box two riders from two different manufacturers to have different ideas."

One of the new features Acosta tried today was the new tire brought by Michelin.

"It's not bad. It was softer," he explained, "At first it was not easy to bend, because it seemed to be too soft and it felt more like the rim on the asphalt than the tire. Then when it warmed up, it felt pretty good and was much better than the one we tried in Misano. I'm happy with that as well. Would I like Michelin to introduce it in 2025? They won't, anyway it would be hard to say after seven laps. Having to choose between this one and the other, though, I would definitely choose this one. Although I usually like standard tires."

With this test completed, the KTM rider looks forward to the winter break with confidence.

"I'm happy and at peace," he admitted, "It's been a tough year and I'm very happy to be back home, back with the people I more or less grew up with, the men I've known since I was 15 years old, since I've been here in the World Championship, without having encountered any problems all day. Inserting myself into the team was easy."

What would the two-time world champion ask of the Austrian manufacturer for Sepang? "I want more power. More corner entry, a calmer bike, and grip. I want everything! - he replied, smiling - If we improved traction and had a bike that was a little calmer, I would be happy."

Pedro then concluded with advice for the new MotoGP rookies, all three of whom crashed on the day: "I also crashed in Turn 2 in Valencia, so it's hard to say. I think the problem for them will be understanding the tires. Although, when I arrived the situation was worse, because in Moto2 we were racing with Dunlops, which were hard as stone. Turns 2, 5 and 10 here are difficult because of the temperature of the tires, on which you can intervene with different aspects. So it's normal that they crashed. It's a learning process."

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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