Pol Espargaro on Acosta: “Pedro should have won much earlier!”

Pedro Acosta secured his first MotoGP Grand Prix victory at the Red Bull Ring. In his third year in the premier class, it finally came off at his 56th attempt – for the 22-year-old and his employer KTM, the triumph in Spielberg was a great source of satisfaction.

KTM test riders Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro played a major part in Acosta’s victory – together with the engineers from Mattighofen and the regular riders, the pair have turned the RC16 into a winning package. Espargaro finished the main race at Spielberg in 16th place. He wasn’t happy with his own performance, but was all the more delighted for Acosta.

“He’d deserved the win much earlier. But we can’t just say: ‘Hey, the bike’s brilliant, that’s why Pedro’s winning’, because I think Pedro should have won much, much earlier. But never mind, he deserves it,” said Espargaro. “He’s gradually built up the pace he showed at Spielberg; in the last few races he’s been fantastic – I’d even say better than in Austria. But the result just didn’t quite come off.”

Willkommen zum Rennen am Red Bull Ring

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Pecco Bagnaia und Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin

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Brad Binder

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Marc Márquez

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Ai Ogura

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi und Marc Márquez

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Pedro Acosta

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Johann Zarco

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Jorge Martin

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Enea Bastianini

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Pedro Acosta gewinnt das Rennen

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Pedro Acosta und Team

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Martin, Acosta, Bezzecchi

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Sieger Pedro Acosta

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Sieger Pedro Acosta

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Willkommen zum Rennen am Red Bull Ring

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Espargaro on Motegi: “A track similar to Austria”

On Saturday, Acosta made a serious mistake whilst leading the Spielberg sprint and crashed. He was also the fastest rider on the track in the short race. “It was his sprint,” Espargaro is certain. The Spaniard also has high hopes for his compatriot on the Asian and Australian tour. “There are now a few races coming up where, in my opinion, Pedro can do it again – for example in Japan, which is a track quite similar to the one in Austria. I think he can put in a good performance there.”

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

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MotoGP World Championship

02.10.2026 - 01:55

The Japanese Grand Prix takes place from 2 to 4 October. At the Twin Ring Motegi, Acosta finished 3rd and 17th in 2025. It has not yet been announced whether Pol Espargaro will once again stand in for Maverick Viñales in the Tech3 team in Japan. ‘Top Gun’, however, was present at Monday’s test in Spielberg to assess his fitness. It will soon become clear whether Viñales feels fit enough for a full race weekend.