Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta is still not a MotoGP winner despite his Sprint victory at the Thailand Grand Prix, Carl Fogarty says. Acosta took the chequered flag for the first time in the premier class at the end of the Saturday race.
Acosta is arguably the most exciting MotoGP talent since Marc Marquez, but critics have held his failure to win a race in his first two seasons against him despite the evident limitations of the KTM machinery.
The Spaniard, who finished second behind Marco Bezzecchi in the main race at the Chang International Circuit, has scored 11 podiums without taking a Grand Prix victory. He is now just one shy of matching Colin Edwards’ unwanted record.
Pedro Acosta is still not a MotoGP winner, according to Carl Fogarty
Officially, first place in the Sprint doesn’t count towards a rider’s win tally. For instance, the MotoGP website puts Marquez at 99 victories, which factors in his 26 wins from the lower Grand Prix classes.
If his Sprint victories were included, he would already have reached 114. The sport only introduced the second race at the start of the 2023 season.
Acosta is now the only rider on the grid who has won a Sprint but not a Grand Prix, reigniting the stat-keeping debate.
Do you consider Pedro Acosta a MotoGP winner?
Joining the discussion on X, four-time World Superbikes champion Fogarty said: “No, it shouldn’t count as a GP win, and neither should the WSBK sprint race count as one.”
A WSBK weekend currently features two full-length races separated by a Sprint-style ‘superpole’ race on a Sunday.
Marc Marquez makes clear what he really thinks of Pedro Acosta
Acosta beat Marquez in a thrilling battle in the Buriram Sprint, albeit with the aid of a controversial penalty. It was a significant development in their rivalry before their match-up at the factory Ducati squad in 2027.
Marquez playfully told Acosta after the Sprint that his championship lead would be short-lived, but he heads to Brazil with that advantage intact.
Was Marc Marquez’s dig at Pedro Acosta really necessary?
Acosta told reporters in Thailand that 'it wasn't a one-day [championship] lead like Marc said'.
Acosta said after the race that he had proved Marquez wrong. When these comments were put to the world champion a few days later, he pointedly stated that he won the title in his first season.
But in a subsequent interview, Marquez called Acosta ‘special’ and the ‘benchmark for the younger generation’. That praise may cool the tension between the two Spaniards.
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