Pol Espargaro is amazed by Acosta: “He’s doing far more than the KTM is capable of!”

Pol Espargaro is really finding his rhythm after his long break from racing. The KTM test rider recently stepped in once again for the injured Maverick Viñales and, at the Aragon Grand Prix, closed the gap further on the established KTM riders Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini. The 35-year-old will be back in action at the upcoming race weekend in Misano.

“I think I’m enjoying it a bit more now,” Espargaro summed up after the Aragon GP. “I’ve significantly reduced the gap to my team-mates – not to Pedro, though. I think that gap is actually getting bigger from race to race,” he added with a laugh.

In contrast, Espargaro was only around ten seconds off the pace of Binder and Bastianini over the race distance. “I managed to reduce the gap to Enea and Brad quite significantly over the weekend. But I’m still lacking a lot of speed. It’s only my second race.”

Pol Espargaro wurde in Aragon 16.

Foto: Gold & Goose

Particularly when the tyres are wearing out, the long-serving MotoGP rider still lacks the instinctive reflexes. “When the electronics and the tyres are under greater strain, I really struggle. I don’t yet know how to react and adapt to these major changes when the bike starts having problems with used tyres.”

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After his long break, he has to get to know many situations practically from scratch. “You have to know what the bike is going to do and what’s going to happen. I’m discovering that for the first time, just like a rookie,” explained Espargaro. At the same time, he recognises the progress he’s making: “It feels great. I feel like I’m getting faster and faster.”

Espargaro raves about Acosta

Whilst Espargaro himself is gradually finding his way back to racing level, Pedro Acosta is causing a stir within the KTM camp. The experienced test rider is deeply impressed by what the 22-year-old is getting out of the RC16. Most recently, Acosta fought his way to second place, leaving the highly rated Aprilias behind, amongst others.

“It’s great to see that the bike is working for Pedro. His race was incredible. It was brilliant and like a huge breath of fresh air for everyone at the factory,” gushed Espargaro after the Grand Prix at MotorLand Aragón. “That will help us to keep pushing for Pedro. Because he deserves the best equipment and the best possible motorbike for the upcoming races.”

Pedro Acosta

Foto: Gold & Goose

Espargaró had already been impressed by Acosta’s performance at Silverstone. “I’m lost for words when it comes to what he did at Silverstone. But here, too, he’s riding like a man possessed,” marvelled the Spaniard.

For Espargaro, there is no doubt that Acosta is currently getting more out of the KTM than the package would actually suggest. “That shows that Pedro has the bike completely under control. He’s doing much more than the bike is actually capable of.”

Binder and Bastianini fast in race trim

At the same time, the KTM test rider also sees positive signs in the results from Binder and Bastianini. “If we look at Brad and Enea, their race wasn’t bad. They crossed the line about 25 seconds behind,” analysed Espargaro. Given their starting positions, he saw this as a sign that the RC16 was fundamentally more competitive at Aragon than it initially appeared. “That’s not too bad. It means the bike wasn’t all that bad here. That gives us a lot of energy for the next races.”

Espargaro himself has a busy schedule ahead of him. Following his return to racing at Misano, he’ll take part in a test at Mugello. He’ll then travel straight on, before resuming development work on the 850cc KTM for 2027.

He still needs to clock up more kilometres on the new bike. Due to an injury, Espargaro missed two scheduled test sessions and has only ridden the 850 twice since February. “I need laps, I need more laps. I need to train and get back up to speed,” emphasised the Spaniard. The constant switch between the current 1,000cc RC16 and the 2027 prototype will therefore become part of Espargaro’s daily routine.