RiderTua.com – MotoGP observer Simon Crafar praised the performance of KTM and Pedro Acosta at the Portuguese GP. According to him, the Austrian manufacturer’s bike has no weaknesses, as shown at the Algarve Portimao circuit. Their big target for the 2024 season is to become Ducati’s toughest competitor, and they managed to underline the threat they pose at Portimao.
Surprisingly, Pedro Acosta, a rookie from the GASGAS Tech3 team, managed to climb the podium in only his second series in MotoGP, after beating the KTM factory duo Brad Binder and Jack Miller. He became the 3rd youngest rookie to climb the premier class podium in Portimao, where he also overtook two world champions Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia.
Simon Crafar: Pedro Acosta Won’t Be Happy Until He Wins
Even though the Desmosedici GP24 remains the best bike in MotoGP after Jorge Martin (Pramac) won the race at Portimao ahead of Ducati factory rider Enea Bastianini, only KTM was able to compete against them.
Simon Crafar confirmed that so far he still thinks KTM as a whole is in a good position. There will be some tracks like Qatar, which will make them suffer. Maybe Thailand, with minimal rear grip. But they have improved a lot in many areas.
When racing at the Thai GP, they will overcome their small weaknesses. “They don’t seem to have many weaknesses at all. With its engine, KTM has the strength to fight its rivals,” said Crafar.
Pedro Acosta’s phenomenal performance has stolen the spotlight this season. Two years ago he was on the podium with Remy Gardner, who beat him. That was an amazing podium! In his first season in the Moto2 class. But he received little attention. People gave him a hard time because they weren’t happy with his first podium in the Moto2 intermediate class, Crafar said.
Simon added that he went to Acosta for a discussion and he thinks he said all the right things that his team had told him to do. But he wasn’t happy.. “I love it! Because he wants more. I smiled and said ‘the kid wants more’. He won’t be satisfied until he wins. It’s clear he’s a winner.”
Acosta may not yet prove to be KTM’s mainstay rider. They rearranged their rider line-up to accommodate Acosta as he demanded an upgrade from Moto2, where the 19-year-old took the world title last year. This means that Pol Espargaro must be sacrificed and removed from his racing seat.
Acosta has put pressure on getting a factory KTM seat in 2025. However, Brad Binder is currently in 2nd place in the MotoGP standings after two series behind Martin. And Miller, whose future has been under intense scrutiny especially after finishing only 21st in the season-opening race in Qatar, managed to restore confidence in his own abilities at Portimao.
