Acosta’s Maiden Pole Misfortune Continues with Motegi Sprint Crash: A Tradition in the Making

Acosta encounters a "personal error" during Motegi MotoGP sprint, extending his initial pole position jinx

"Seems like falling from my debut pole is turning into a habit"

Pedro Acosta has admitted that his fall from the front position in the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix sprint was due to "an individual error," marking an undesirable third mishap for the Tech3 competitor.

On Saturday morning, the 20-year-old racer clinched his initial pole position in MotoGP, following the cancellation of Marc Marquez's leading Q2 time at the session's conclusion.

This was Acosta's initial pole position in a grand prix since the Moto2 race in Austria in 2023, but his hopes of victory at the Motegi sprint were dashed when he fell from the front on the ninth lap out of twelve.

For the third occasion in his grand prix racing career, Acosta experienced a crash following his initial pole position win, with previous incidents occurring at the 2021 Valencia GP in Moto3 and the 2022 French GP in Moto2.

"He admitted it was his own error," he confessed to Motogp.com.

"I took a slightly wider line in Turn 6, which led to a bit more of an angle and a wider approach into Turn 7.

"It seems like it's turning into a habit for me to fall from my initial pole position in any category. Tomorrow marks the second instance we'll be kicking off from the top spot. Usually, the second attempts turn out to be more favorable."

Acosta's advantage had expanded to more than 0.6 seconds before he took a fall during the sprint, and he believes he wasn't feeling any strain prior to his crash.

"He emphasized his security, attributing it to the fact that they were not traveling at excessively high speeds."

"I made a foolish error, but regardless, we must acknowledge that the error was mine."

"Apologies to KTM, to the entire team, and to everyone involved in this project, as the blame for today's outcome lies with me."

"Indeed, we're forming tighter bonds than we anticipated for this season. Admittedly, it was hard to come to terms with, but it's crucial we keep moving forward in this direction."

Following Acosta's tumble, Francesco Bagnaia, who emerged victorious in the sprint, identified the Spaniard as a contender for Sunday's grand prix. This perspective was initially formed on Friday, after observing Acosta's performance in the long run.

In response to inquiries, Acosta expressed optimism, stating, "Our aim is for minimal disturbances. It's shaping up to be a challenging race, especially considering tyre selection since there hasn't been significant mileage on the medium tyres. However, we'll see how it unfolds."

Explore Further

Sign up for our MotoGP Newsletter

Stay updated with the newest MotoGP updates, behind-the-scenes content, one-on-one interviews, and special offers delivered straight to your email.

For further details, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Recent Updates

Further Updates

Site Navigation

CrashNet

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Copying or replicating the content, images, or illustrations in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.