Pedro Acosta set the fastest lap time in the final practice for the Americas MotoGP at COTA with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia trailing closely behind.
GASGAS KTM’s Pedro Acosta easily secured his Q2 spot for the Grand Prix of The Americas MotoGP, as the rookie showed no signs of faltering under the extra pressure to follow up his incredible first-ever MotoGP podium finish last time out.
Since making his premier class debut on the Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 KTM, the Spaniard has proven to be an incredible talent, as evidenced by his unexpected run to third place in Round 2 in Portugal.
After taking the limelight upon his arrival in the United States, Acosta handled all the attention brilliantly during Friday Practice for the Americas MotoGP. He capped the day by securing his ticket to Q2 in fifth place after recording the third fastest time in FP1.
Acosta lapped in 2.02.243 as he maintained his impressive performance on the GasGas, while Bagnaia placed second with his best lap.
“Super happy, top five overall was not easy, it’s not an easy track for a rookie but we passed it,” Acosta told the MotoGP website. “It’s important to be in Q2 for the races, but I am happy because we made nice steps between the morning and afternoon.
“We know more or less the problems we need to improve for tomorrow, it’s quite tricky sometimes.”
Notably, factory KTM riders Brad Binder and Jack Miller finished Practice far short of expectations, leaving Acosta as the only stablemate to finish Friday inside the top ten. However, Acosta maintains that his only concern is growth and progress.
“We need to understand that they are fast and tomorrow are going to [be fast], I am not focused on that, I am focused on what I am doing,” he added. “Our base is good for this weekend and we need to enjoy this. Other days will not be like this, they will be more difficult, so we need to enjoy the learning process.”
Gresini’s Marc Marquez and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales finished third and fourth respectively, maintaining their consistent pace from Friday’s practice as Alex Marquez came in fifth on the sister Gresini bike.
Championship leader Jorge Martin concluded his practice session behind both Gresini bikes, after having broken the lap record in the second practice session yesterday.
Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi rounded out the top ten, with Jack Miller’s KTM coming in at number eleven. Trackhouse Aprilla maintained their impressive performance in front of the home crowd as Miguel Oliveira overcame Ducati pair Fabio Di Gianantonio and Enea Bastianini.
Brad Binder finished his session in a disappointing 15th place, but still managed to prevail over Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo. Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez’s troubles persisted as he struggled during the session and could only manage to finish in 18th place.
Joan Mir was the leading Honda in the practice session followed by Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco of LCR, as Luca Marini finished dead last in the sister works entry.
