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It's Portimao time for KTM's enfant prodige, rookie Pedro Acosta, who after thrilling fans and insiders with those overtakes in Qatar, primarily the one on Marquez, is now grappling with the difficult Algarve circuit. A circuit on which the Spaniard did not lap as he did in the Qatar tests, but on which at the end of the Friday sessions he still managed to come close to Q1, 11th.
A result well within expectations then, both of the Spaniard and of KTM, which today also placed a Miller 2nd and a Binder 5th, demonstrating the enormous progress made by the Mattighofen-based manufacturer. Pedro will thus face his first Q1 tomorrow with some worthy opponents, first and foremost Oliveira on his home circuit, not forgetting the Aprilia of one Aleix Espargarò and the two Ducatis of Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez. It won't be easy, "but it's still an experience I've been missing," he later jokingly commented to reporters.
"It was close to Q1, " commented the Spaniard , "it was a shame but I think we can still be satisfied, in the first session of the day the situation was much more complicated, also because of the circuit conditions. Tomorrow will be a challenging day, we will have to look for access to Q2, but we knew we would still need time to learn and adapt to MotoGP."
What do you expect from this weekend?
"You can always dream . I will try to approach qualifying in the best way, while in the race I will try to avoid repeating the tire mistake made in Qatar. If I manage to get into Q2 I will try to take the lead in the first laps, otherwise we will see what happens during the sprint."
In the past few days there had been rumors that you had problems with forearm due to compartment syndrome.
"I don't have anything in my arm, I'm in very good physical condition," reassured the Spaniard.
Tomorrow's qualifying will not be easy, looking at the riders in Q1.
"It's clear that having to go through Q1 is more difficult than going straight into Q2, but we have to stay calm and play our cards. Among the riders I will have to deal with for sure there will be Aleix who will be fast, but also Oliveira who races on his home circuit, so I know it won't be easy. Overall though, it's still a type of experience that I needed in MotoGP."
Did you solve then the problem with the brake lever?
"Now it is closer to mine and lower, it almost feels like a scooter brake. I think it's fine now, it's no longer giving me problems like in Qatar."
From the aerodynamic point of view, is KTM still working?
"Dani Pedrosa is doing a great job with the factory, the aerodynamic profile of the bike has improved, especially at the front . Now the bike is more stable and less tiring to ride. At the front it looks a little bit like the style that Ducati has, while at the rear it is in our style, I think it is working and little by little we are going in the right direction toward the level of competitiveness we are trying to achieve."
Automatic Translation by DeepL
