Pedro Acosta wins his first MotoGP race at the Austrian Grand Prix, the home of KTM. Joining Acosta on the podium were Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi. After waiting three seasons, Acosta finally took his first win, much to the delight of the team’s home fans. This is also KTM’s first win since Thailand 2022 with Miguel Oliveria.
Race Start
As the lights went out, it was a good start for Martín, who kept the lead at turn one. Marc Márquez and Acosta did not get the starts they wanted, with Ai Ogura getting past them both.
Going onto lap 2, there was a battle for the lead between the Aprilia Racing pair. Bezzecchi went for the overtake at turn one, with Martín getting back past at turn three.
The rider with the best pace in the early laps was Acosta, who was moving up the field after a bad start. By lap five, he had made his way up to second, chasing down the leader.
Further down the field, it was a good start for KTM’s Brad Binder, who was up to sixth in the early parts of the race. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo also had a good start to the race, sitting in the top 10. Both riders have had tough seasons, so it’s good to see them getting better results.
Battles across the field
On lap 8, the battle for the win was in full force between Martín and Acosta. One lap later, on the run to turn two, Acosta managed to speed past Martín, taking the lead of the race. Acosta immediately started pulling away from Martín to try to settle into a rhythm.
M. Márquez looked to be having an issue with heavy breaking on his Ducati. Within two laps, he dropped three positions and fell back to seventh. This weekend there is some heat treated Michelin tyres which M. Márquez never seemed to get along with.
On lap 13, yellow flag was brought out for a crash at turn two for Álex Márquez. He was ok and walked away but a disappointing weekend for Á. Márquez.
After the early struggles, M. Márquez’s pace seemed to get better as the race went on, after making his way past Binder and Fermín Aldeguer. Back at the front, even with Acosta ahead, Martín was not giving up the battle and the gap never got above a second.
Five Laps To Go
Riders like Ogura, who is good at saving tyres, started to pull in the riders in podium positions. Bezzecchi was also pulling in Martín however the pace was not enough to take P2 on the podium.
No one could stop Acosta from taking his first MotoGP win after 55 races. After the disappointment of yesterday’s Sprint Race, it was exactly what everyone needed.
Aldeguer recieved a three second penalty on the last lap (equivalent of a Long Lap Penalty) for causing contact. This puts him down from P6 to P9.
Full Race Result:
The riders now get a week off before we go to the Asian Leg of the championship. The next race is at Mobility Resort Motegi for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, 2nd-4th October.