Pol Espargaro praises Pedro Acosta’s ‘strategy’ for genius Francesco Bagnaia at Dutch Grand Prix

Pedro Acosta He finished the first day in Assen with the third fastest time on the grid. Alex Marquez issued a late red flag A few minutes left on the clock.

On the final lap, Acosta sat P8 in Saturday’s qualifying session and was in danger of making it through Q1, six tenths off Bezeci’s benchmark.

Pol Espargaro praises Pedro Acosta’s Francesco Bagnaia ‘strategy’ at Dutch GP

Season DAZN’s Covering the pre-qualification practice session Dutch Grand PrixMotoGP pundit Paul Espargaro The grid drew attention to what he noticed about Acosta as he tried to gain a few laps after the red flag.

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Acosta observed the following. Francesco BagnaiaLooking down the barrel of Q1’s appearance at the end of the session. He was forced to push to secure his position, and Espargaro felt Acosta’s choice to follow was the 22-year-old’s mature.

“Pedro was right on the limit, he was very fast,” he began Motosan. Because he’s consistent, he has that amazing ability. But he did it behind Peko Bagnaya.

“He knew – it was a good strategy – that Peco was out of Q2 and he was forced to set a good lap by leading. Pedro had the right rider in front of him and he was able to set that lap.”

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for that KTM Star. Espargaro, who serves as the Austrian constructor’s test rider, said Acosta had “complained” about the problems since leaving the Ascent TT circuit.

“Pedro is complaining a lot about KTM’s stability here at Assen,” he said.

But on circuits like Assen, the lack of downforce for that – grip on the asphalt – is because the bike is more unstable and moves more often during those changes of direction, especially at the rear.

With a trip to Acosta on the horizon for the factory Ducati team, the frustration at Matthighofen will hopefully stop when he gets a chance to compete on what he hopes will be a race-winning bike.