(Motorsport-Total.com) – In only his second MotoGP race, Pedro Acosta made it to the podium for the first time. In the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday in Portimao, the 19-year-old Spaniard crossed the finish line in third place for Tech3-GasGas. This makes Acosta the third youngest rider in the history of the premier class of the Motorcycle World Championship to achieve a podium finish. But Acosta impressed (once again) in more ways than one on Sunday.
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Not yet 20 years old, but already on the MotoGP podium: Pedro Acosta Zoom
Because on his way from seventh place on the grid to P3 after 25 laps, the MotoGP rookie overtook the two KTM factory riders Jack Miller and Brad Binder as well as the six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez and finally – in the second attempt – also the two-time and reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia.
After his four successful maneuvers, Acosta was in fourth place on the penultimate lap of the race. He was given third place as a gift when Aprilia driver Maverick Vinales crashed at the beginning of the last lap due to gearbox damage. In the end, Binder and Miller had no chance against Acosta. And Bagnaia and Marquez took each other out of the decision with a collision.
Acosta’s first reaction in parc ferme after his first MotoGP podium was: “I can’t say anything else about today! The team worked fantastically, the bike was perfect until the end of the race.” Alluding to his minor problems at the season opener in Qatar two weeks ago, the rookie said: “Today it wasn’t the tire, today it wasn’t the arm!”
In the interview with MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports after the race and also in the top 3 press conference, in which he sat next to winner Jorge Martin and runner-up Enea Bastianini, Acosta spoke in more detail about how he fared on Sunday and what he learned from fighting with the stars of the MotoGP scene.
“I enjoyed the duel with ‘Pecco’ the most,” remembers Acosta, how he initially followed defending champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia for laps and then overtook him in turn 2 with a clever maneuver.
“I drove a lot of laps behind him and learned a lot of things, like how he uses his body to get grip and what he does to avoid destroying the tires. On Sundays he’s one of the best ever in that regard. That’s why I “I really enjoyed learning from him,” said Acosta, whose first attack on Bagnaia in Turn 1 was not yet successful.
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Even world champion “Pecco” Bagnaia had to bow to the rookie Acosta Zoom
But having learned enough, Acosta called for the attack on Bagnaia for the second time. In turn 2 on the 21st of 25 laps, the rookie hit the inside, but was a bit too fast. Because it was clear to him and he immediately anticipated that Bagnaia would counterattack on the inside at the exit of the corner, Acosta immediately moved over to the right. Bagnaia had to give in.
Bagnaia’s assessment after the race was as follows: “I actually wanted to stay in front. When Pedro attacked me, he was too fast. He had a strong pace. He slid a lot, but was really fast.”
With his third place finish on Sunday at the age of 19 years and 304 days, Acosta is the third youngest driver to achieve a podium finish in the history of the premier class. In the MotoGP era, which has been running since 2002, he is actually the youngest, because the two, who were even younger when they got their first podium finish in the premier class, achieved that many decades ago.
Eduardo Salatino (Argentina) finished second on the podium at his home Grand Prix in 1962 at the age of 19 years and 274 days. And the youngest person to do so is Randy Mamola. The American came second at the 1979 Finnish Grand Prix at the age of 19 years and 261 days.
As for Acosta, despite the hype surrounding him, he immediately tried to put things in perspective after his first podium finish: “We have to keep our feet on the ground. It was a really nice weekend here. But who knows, maybe it will work out Not so good in America (Austin; editor’s note) or in Jerez. I don’t know. I just know that every race will be a question mark for us at first. I have to drive most of the tracks with a MotoGP driver. Still getting to know the bike.”
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In the MotoGP era since 2022, no one on the podium has been as young as Pedro Acosta Zoom
What Acosta knows is to appreciate the merit of those around him. “I really have to give a big shout out to the team,” he says. “I’m not the easiest person to deal with on a race weekend, but they work like crazy for me. Every morning I have 20 messages on my phone from my data engineer and my crew chief so I can understand and check a lot of things. They work truly unbelievable.”
“You shouldn’t forget that I wasn’t qualified for Q2 on Friday afternoon,” recalls Acosta, classifying the Portimao weekend as “the first challenging weekend.” Why? “Because it was a new route for us.” The 19-year-old Tech3 driver means that he was already able to rehearse as part of the winter test drives at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, where the season opener took place two weeks ago.