Beirer on Acosta’s victory: “We’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment!”

KTM celebrated a sensational home victory at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg – the ‘Oranges’ also had reason to celebrate Pedro Acosta’s first MotoGP win. Some of the team bosses were left speechless following Saturday’s fiasco in the Sprint race, when the Spaniard threw away victory by crashing into the gravel just before the end.

KTM CEO Gottfried Neumeister beamed alongside the whole orange family: “It’s so wonderful in front of a home crowd. It was that nail-biting wait – would it happen or not? We saw on Saturday how quickly things can change. We’re all the happier that we were able to show our home crowd just how strong the KTM is. It’s not just Pedro; Brad also fought his way up from way back.”

“Now we’re over the moon – also for the team, that the tension is off and Pedro was able to clinch the win,” Neumeister continued. “Now it’s happened: Pedro has secured his first win with us. We’re celebrating with everyone! We gave it our all right up to the very end and kept our fingers crossed. Huge respect also goes to all the mechanics. Pedro had that crash in the warm-up, as did Brad. The lads didn’t even have time for lunch. The Tech3 mechanics also pitched in and helped with the set-up; they came over and made sure everything was ready in time. It was an incredible team effort!”

Neumeister and racing director Pit Beirer had watched the race side by side in the pits, just as they had on Saturday, and embraced each other after Acosta crossed the finish line. Beirer: “We’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment. The pressure after a difficult summer – and now this victory! I’m lost for words, I’m absolutely stunned!”

Commenting on winner Acosta’s stunt, when he laid his RC16 on its side in the chicane after the win – a nod to Saturday’s crash – Beirer said: “Apparently he enjoys riding fast and then lying down. At least this time he waited until the race was over.” Beirer had to close his eyes at the finish and admitted: “After what we went through yesterday, it was a really tough 28 laps. We were counting down the sectors on every lap!”

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02.10.2026 - 01:55