Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta admitted that he ignored Pol Espargaro’s message on the Catalan Grand Prix Sprint grid during his tense battle with Alex Marquez.
On Saturday, KTM rider Acosta managed to secure pole position ahead of VR46’s Franco Morbidelli and Gresini star Marquez.
In the Sprint, Marquez and Acosta were involved in a close battle for the lead, with the former having to manage his front tyre and eventually holding on to win by a margin of just 0.041 seconds.
Meanwhile, VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio finished in third place, ahead of Raul Fernandez and Johann Zarco.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi finished down in ninth place, with Jorge Martin crashing out.
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Pedro Acosta ignored Pol Espargaro’s message during Alex Marquez battle
Speaking after the race, Acosta, 21, revealed a piece of advice Espargaro gave him on the grid before lights out.
However, the young Spaniard went on to admit that he did not think about the message during his battle with Marquez.
When asked what Espargaro said to him, Acosta replied to Italian news outlet Moto.It: “The usual thing: ‘Don’t mess up and bring the bike back to the garage.’
“That’s our main goal this year. And then to warm up the tyres well, remembering a bit about how to ride.”
Acosta was then asked whether he thought about the advice on the last lap, when he was chasing Marquez down. He replied: “No, the last lap is the last lap.
“If you’re fighting for the win, it’s okay to crash. But today they were also important points for the championship.”
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Although he was ultimately left disappointed in the Sprint, Acosta did claim that the pace was good and he was happy to be able to fight at the front of the grid.
Acosta added: “The pace was pretty good, even the start, but we’re lacking a lot in the first part of the race and then we always have to recover.
“We have to find something because it seems like Aprilia and Ducati have a lot of grip at the start, while we can’t be that fast in the first laps. But I’m happy with the pace and how we managed the rear tyre because in the end we were very fast.
“It’s hard to say what happened in qualifying, honestly, it was a surprise. There was a lot of grip, let’s see if it’s the same tomorrow.”
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