Pedro Acosta (8th) is hoping for rain: “Perhaps it’ll be enough for the podium”

MotoGP Friday at Phillip Island went better than expected for Pedro Acosta. The KTM factory rider finished the qualifying session in 8th place, thereby securing direct entry into Q2. His race pace, in particular, gave the Spaniard cause for optimism. However, he feels there is still room for improvement when it comes to setting a fast single lap.

At one point, Acosta had even topped the timesheets. With around 20 minutes to go, he took the lead on fresh soft tyres with a time of 1:27.208 minutes. In the closing stages, he was overtaken and finished just behind his team-mate Enea Bastianini, who was the best-placed KTM rider in seventh place.

“To be honest, it didn’t go badly. I’m happy – it went better than expected. I was quite fast at the start of qualifying. My race pace was good. My first flying lap also went well. Then I had a few problems on my second flying lap. But I’m happy because I’m through to Q2 and that was the aim,” explained Acosta.

KTM still has work to do, but they’re heading in the right direction

Whilst the four Aprilia riders secured places in the top five, the KTM rider was able to keep up on the track, at least at times. “Yes, it really went better than I expected. But I’m struggling with the bike’s stability – especially in the third sector. Still, it’s no disaster. I do have a few problems putting in a fast lap, though,” said the Spaniard.

For Acosta, therefore, the overall picture was more positive than his eighth place alone would suggest. In contrast to the difficult second qualifying session, his longer stints impressed him. “There’s still room for improvement. A dry race here is usually very long. My race pace was good,” emphasised the KTM factory rider.

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Nevertheless, he would welcome a change in the weather. Whilst some of his colleagues are hoping for dry conditions given the forecasts for Saturday and Sunday, Acosta expressed a different wish: “I’m knocking on wood and hoping the rain comes tonight,” he said.

The Spaniard avoided making any bold claims about challenging the front-runners after the first day. However, he believes a top-three finish is a possibility. “We’ve still got more potential. It might not be enough to fight for the win, but perhaps for the podium,” explained Acosta.