KTM victory in the MotoGP Sprint at Sepang: Why racing director Pit Beirer got nervous

Pedro Acosta secured his second Sprint victory of the current season at the Sepang International Circuit, having started from third on the grid. The 22-year-old, riding his KTM, overtook championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati) early on and, in tricky conditions with the rain getting heavier, also overtook Ai Ogura, who had been leading until lap 7 of 10.

The KTM team, led by crew chief Paul Trevethan, were already in exuberant celebration mode as soon as the bike crossed the finish line and passed the pit wall. Racing director Pit Beirer (54) did not travel to Malaysia, but is in constant contact with his team. In the frantic finale, as the rain intensified, even the former Motocross World Championship runner-up began to feel the pressure. Suddenly, the phone rang in the pits.

Pit Beirer had witnessed the drama involving Jack Miller

“Pit rang me and said, ‘You can already see the raindrops on the TV screen – are you ready for the bike change?’” revealed KTM manager Jens Hainbach in an interview with our colleagues at ServusTV. “I said, ‘Yes, we’re ready! We can switch at any time.’” Beirer’s concern was justified: he had seen how Jack Miller wanted to make a change immediately after the flag-to-flag signal was shown, but his Pramac Yamaha crew didn’t have the second bike ready!

Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Sepang

Foto: Gold & Goose

Willkommen in Sepang

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Fans

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Marc Márquez

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Maverick Viñales

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Francesco Bagnaia

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Franco Morbidelli

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Marc Márquez

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Francesco Bagnaia

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Enea Bastianini & Johann Zarco

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Diogo Moreira

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Jorge Martin

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Fans

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Maverick Viñales

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Luca Marini

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Der Start des Rennens

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Augusto Fernandez

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Pedro Acosta

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Enea Bastianini

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Regen Flagge

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Iker Lecuona

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Alex Márquez

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Brad Binder

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Fabio Quartararo

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Ai Ogura

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Alex Márquez

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Qualifying - Marc Márquez, Alex Márquez & Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez

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Sieger Pedro Acosta

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Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Sepang

© Gold & Goose

Hainbach was beaming: “It started well and Pedro saw it through to the end. Given the conditions, it was quite a hellish ride. We were expecting rain at any moment, and that’s exactly what happened. He rode it out with his head held high and didn’t make any mistakes – simply brilliant! The lads at the back had to do something to maybe get up the field. Pedro made the right decision.”

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For Acosta, it was his second sprint victory in Asia following his triumph at the start of the season in Thailand. Importantly, these twelve points allowed him to pull slightly clear of Ogura in fourth place in the World Championship standings; Ogura had led the race for much of the distance but had to give way to his Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi in the closing stages, as Bezzecchi still has a theoretical chance of winning the World Championship title. Acosta now holds a ten-point lead over the Japanese rider from the Trackhouse team.

Jens Hainbach (li.) mit Sebastian Risse

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography