Pedro Acosta says he was surprised to encounter so many problems in Friday practice for the Italian Grand Prix after failing to secure a direct entry into Q2.
The factory KTM MotoGP rider lacked the speed to contend for a top 10 result in the afternoon, ending up almost half a second off the pace in 13th place. Having also struggled for speed in opening practice, Acosta’s day eventually ended with a trip across the gravel on his final flying lap.
The Spaniard’s pace contrasted with that of Tech3’s Enea Bastianini, who sailed to Q2 with the third-fastest time and was the only rider to mix with the Ducatis at the front.
Acosta suggested the disappointing result stemmed more from his side of the garage, admitting the track did not suit his riding style.
“I just lost the front and went to the gravel,” he said.
“We were struggling. It was a day that we struggled too much. Already from the morning, everything was quite difficult to understand why we were having that amount of problems.
“But we have to try now to check the data with the team, try to analyse what is going on and try to follow and check Enea data, because it looks like he is the one taking advantage of these kinds of flowing tracks, like in Jerez.”
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Acosta’s poor start to the Mugello weekend follows a fortnight after his incredible run in the Catalan Grand Prix, where he felt he came closest to his maiden grand prix win.
The 21-year-old has been in fine form so far this season, having scored several podiums and a sprint win in Buriram across the opening six rounds.
His only low point came at the Spanish Grand Prix in April, where he could bag just six points with a 10th place finish.
Acosta compared his early Mugello struggles to Jerez, but hopes to make a step overnight by looking into Bastianini’s data on the satellite RC16.
“It is quite similar to what happened in Jerez,” he said. “That also was a track that I was struggling at. I’m struggling a lot through corners 8-9. It is also quite similar to what happened to me in Jerez.
“For this, we will try to take Enea’s way quite early compared to last time.”
KTM’s other two riders, Maverick Viñales and Brad Binder, finished 13th and 18th respectively in practice, with the latter stopping on track due to a technical issue.
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