Pedro Acosta has shone on the first day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix of MotoGP, authoritatively leading the session for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. In a much-anticipated weekend for the team, Acosta is determined to achieve his first victory before leaving KTM at the end of the season.
The Murcia rider ended the day with the best time after dominating the morning Free Practice session. Acosta qualified for Saturday’s Q2, where he will share the grid with championship leaders Marc Márquez (Ducati) and Jorge Martín (Aprilia), as well as his closest competitor, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia).
With a margin of almost half a second over the rest of the riders, Acosta demonstrated his potential while other riders focused on setups for the weekend’s races. Although there were tense moments, such as Àlex Márquez‘s crash at the exit of the first corner, Acosta was able to maintain his dominant position in the standings.
After a brief stoppage, the session was rescheduled with just under 12 minutes remaining, enough time for two attempts. Some notable names like Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio had to fight to break into the top 10, while other riders like Francesco Bagnaia could not deliver competitive times.
The day concluded with the impressive return of Ai Ogura, who achieved the third best time. With the race in sight, Acosta seems to be in a favorable position to fight for victory on a circuit where KTM has shown outstanding performance in the past.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI