English
Italiano
More or less. like in previous events of the year, Pedro Acosta had to settle for a 7th place in the Spanish GP yesterday at the Jerez de la Frontera track. A result that was definitely not in line with what the Spanish rider - who crossed the finish line as the third KTM rider - aspires to. Both of Acosta's teammates were able to do better than him: Brad Binder came in 6th and Maverick Vinales took the Tech3 team's RC16 to 4th. El Tiburón de Mazarrón didn't hide his concern about this alarming situation, but he also doesn't want to lose heart and prefers to focus on the positives of yesterday's race, working on what is still missing so that he can attempt to get back on track during the next events on the calendar.
What's going on? Not seeing all of you battle the entire weekend isn't normal.
"Well, in the end it, wasn't easy, but we saw some light because. From the middle of the race, and at the end, we made up time on the leading group, and that was good. Something good was there, although qualifying, like in Qatar, didn't prove much, and it's also true that I messed up a bit at the first corner. But the truth is that the sensations in the middle and at the end of the race were good, as far as I can tell. I did my fastest laps. What you have to understand is how they can have so much grip in the first few laps and take it easy. That's all there is to it."
Does that mean you're missing something in the first part of the race?
"The first part of the race is what engages us the most. In the end, I didn't gain much when I overtook Miller, and they didn't gain much from me either. There was a moment at the end of the race when we were the fastest on the track, and I also made up time on Maverick. We have to qualify well, which is the most important thing right now, and figure out how to get grip in the first part of the race, which is what we lack."
On a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned are you about the situation?
"Twelve! It's not an easy situation. It's clear that we aren't having our best time, in terms of results, or because of problems, or so many other factors. We have to keep pushing, we have to move forward a little at a time to climb up. With water mills, if the water isn't moving or going up, then you have to go up."
Are you worried that there aren't many new things in test?
"Well, there are some new things but, at the end of the day, I don't think they're things that will solve the situation overnight. So we have to look for a stable foundation for the bike that, at the moment, we don't have, because the bike is good some days and then it's bad, and it changes from session to session. That's what we have to look for, and that's what will allow us to gradually create a good foundation and climb upward."
How do you rate Vinales' results in the last few races?
"Well, it's kind of Maverick's talent. He qualified well both times and, qualifying in front, and having a clean race solves everything. Honestly, I think we lost a lot in the first part of the race while, in the middle and at the end, we didn't. There was a moment when I lost sight of the top four. Then, at the end, I was able to see more of the group, so I want to say that, at the end of the race, we improved. What we have to do is qualify further ahead because, if you don't have the pace, you more or less get carried, and we also have to figure out how to have more grip on the ground, both in qualifying and in the race."
Photo credit: Pier Luca Brunetti
