#AustrianGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Pedro Acosta wins
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Title race leader Martin produces golden comeback to capitalise on Acosta error
P1 into Turn 1, down to P8 on the opening lap, then back to P1 at the chequered flag. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) produced an exquisite Tissot Sprint comeback to win a dramatic Saturday afternoon at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashes out of a comfortable lead in the closing stages. Joining Martin on the Sprint podium were his two main title rivals in the form of Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), as we now look forward to what is set to be a Spielberg thriller on Sunday afternoon.
MARTIN & MARC MARQUEZ GO INTO BATTLE
Before that though, here’s how the Sprint unfolded… From a blockbuster front row, Martin grabbed the holeshot ahead of Marc Marquez, but the Aprilia star was wide on the exit to give the reigning World Champion a sniff of taking the lead into Turn 2a. Both braking late, Marquez had the inside line, and with neither wanting to give an inch, it was Martin who lost out. On the outside, Martin wasn’t in an ideal position and lost all of his mid-corner speed and drive, and having led into Turn 1, by Turn 3, Martin was shoved down to P8.
Marc Marquez didn’t lead for long, though. At Turn 3, the #93 was slightly wide and barging his way through the opened door to seize the lead? His 2027 teammate Acosta. And immediately, the #37 pulled the pin to open up a gap that rapidly crept up to a second.
Third place was Bezzecchi at this stage, the Italian shadowing Marc Marquez closely, with the other Marquez, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), lapping in P4.
THE COMEBACK BEGINS
After the relatively disastrous opening lap, Martin was unravelling a mega comeback. Martin moved past Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and then Alex Marquez in quick succession to climb back up to P4 by Lap 5, and at Turn 1 on Lap 7 of 14, Martin carved his way up the inside of teammate Bezzecchi to clamber his way into the bronze medal positions. Next up: title rival Marc Marquez.
And at Turn 1, exactly a lap after his classy move on Bezzecchi, Martin returned the favour on Marc Marquez. An aggressive but clean move saw Martin rise into P2, and with Acosta 2.8s up the road, Martin’s main concern was now keeping Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi at bay – and not exceeding track limits once more, because that would lead to a Long Lap penalty having already received a warning.
ACOSTA CRASHES FROM SPRINT LEAD
It was all looking easy for Acosta to go on and collect a second Sprint win of the season, until an unforced error arrived at Turn 2a with three laps to go. Can you believe it? Leading by two seconds on KTM’s home turf, Acosta lost the front and crashed. The Spaniard was into the chicane too hot, and while remaining committed to keeping his KTM leant into the corner, the front end let go. Acosta snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to hand Martin the lead of the Sprint. MotoGP, hey?
YOUR PODIUM AND POINT SCORERS
And so, unlike Acosta, the championship leader made no mistake. The 2024 World Champion produced a phenomenal ride to gobble up what could prove to be a crucial 12 points, with Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi, your top three in the title race, picking up the silver and bronze medals.
Ogura’s return from injury unearths a Sprint P4 for the Japanese star, with Alex Marquez beating Bagnaia by six tenths as the Ducati riders cross the line in P5 and P6. Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) took top HRC honours in P7, while Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Binder took the final Saturday points in P8 and P9.
MOTOGP – RACE: Bouncing back: flawless Acosta fends off Aprilia charge to claim dream maiden win
Officially the fastest mullet in the business. Nearly three years of trying. Now, those 25 points have been delivered. After his Tissot Sprint blunder on Saturday, boy did Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) banish those demons and respond on Sunday with a flawless ride to a maiden MotoGP victory. And what a perfect place to do it at too. KTM’s home. Red Bull’s home. The perfect venue. A beauty of a farewell gift before a new chapter for both rider and factory awaits in 2027.
Having notched up 15 podiums without standing on the top step in MotoGP, Acosta battled his way past, and then fended off World Championship leader Jorge Martin, who clinched an important second-place finish at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria to extend his lead in the title race to 12 points after Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) was P5 at the flag. It was Martin’s Aprilia Racing teammate, Marco Bezzecchi, who bagged the final spot on the podium, with just 0.192s separating the Italian from the #89 over the line following a tense and riveting Grand Prix.
LIGHTS OUT: APRILIA DREAMLAND
As the lights went out, it was a dream getaway for Aprilia as Martin, Bezzecchi, and Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) occupied P1 to P3, in that order, with Marc Marquez losing three positions at the end of the opening lap as Acosta pounced on his future teammate to grab P4 after a slightly sluggish start.
Bezzecchi then fancied a hold of the race lead baton at the start of Lap 2. A classic Turn 1 move was signed, sealed, and delivered to his teammate Martin at Turn 1, before the polesitter snapped straight back at Turn 3. Meanwhile, Acosta was shifting. Turn 6 saw the KTM star carve past Ogura for third, and then the #37 quickly began to climb all over the tailpipes of Bezzecchi’s RS-GP.
ACOSTA BATTLES HIS WAY TO THE FRONT, MM93 SLIPS BACK
He wasn’t behind for long though. On Lap 4, at Turn 2b – the scene of Acosta’s Sprint error 23 hours prior – Acosta struck to pocket P2, with Bezzecchi then slipping further into the clutches of fourth-place Ogura after the Italian ran wide at the final corner at the end of Lap 4.
By the end of Lap 7, Martin and Acosta were 1.5s up the road from Bezzecchi, who in turn sat half a second ahead of Ogura, who was beginning to be put under pressure from our reigning World Champion.
Then, on Lap 9, a change for the lead. Acosta, on the exit of Turn 1, outdrove Martin on the run down into Turn 2a to rise to the front of the field for the first time. Further back, attention turned to Marc Marquez because shortly after passing Ogura for P4, the #93 was sideways and wide into Turn 1. That cost Marc Marquez P4, and then P5, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) picking the seven-time MotoGP World Champion off.
Another poor Turn 1 then saw Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) jump ahead of the #93, and suddenly, it was P7 for Marc Marquez. Was there an issue? Or was it a case of simply making a couple of small mistakes?
ACOSTA VS APRILIA FOR THE WIN
As we passed the halfway stage of the Grand Prix, or, to be more precise, clocking onto Lap 16 of 28, Acosta led Martin by 0.7s, with Bezzecchi hovering around a second off Martin in P3. Ogura wasn’t out of the podium equation in fourth, 1.2s away from Bezzecchi, as Aldeguer and Marc Marquez sat in P5 and P6 – 3.4s behind Ogura.
It was on Lap 20 when Marc Marquez was able to get back past Aldeguer for P5. The gap to Ogura was now up to 3.8s though, so was P5 the best it was going to get for Ducati’s title charger?
Meanwhile, things were beginning to close up at the front. Acosta dropped into the 1:31s on Lap 21 to see his lead drop to 0.7s from over a second, with all three of the chasing Aprilias still in the high 1:30s. The fastest of the quartet? Ogura.
Acosta did respond on the next lap. A 1:30.693 was faster than the factory-painted Aprilia’s of Martin and Bezzecchi, with Ogura still ever so slightly quicker than the three ahead of him.
Acosta gathered his pace up nicely over the next couple of laps though. The lead was back up to just north of a second, with Martin instead coming under increasing pressure from teammate Bezzecchi.
Two to go. Acosta’s advantage was 1.4s, and there was a dream debut MotoGP victory with Red Bull KTM, at the Red Bull Ring, well in sight.
LAST LAP
The gap? 1.2s. And the gap between Martin and Bezzecchi? 0.2s. Acosta just needed to bring his RC16 home with a clean lap. And he did. Finally, Acosta is a MotoGP Sunday winner. It was always going to come at some point for the superstar, and before his and KTM’s journey comes to an end, it was only right that they enjoyed at least one win together.
It could be a huge day for Aprilia as they hunt for MotoGP title glory, with both Martin and Bezzecchi picking up double podiums in Austria before the unpredictable flyaway stretch begins. Martin now leads Marquez by 12 points, with Bezzecchi 42 off the top of the table ahead of Japan.
YOUR AUSTRIAN GP POINT SCORERS
Speaking of Japan, what a comeback it was for Ogura. 0.9s away from the rostrum in P4 was a great way to return before his home Grand Prix arrives in less than two weeks.
Marc Marquez’s P5 finish, and 7.3s margin from victory, was a little unexpected from the Sprint silver medallist, as the #93 relinquishes the championship lead heading to the venue he clinched the 2025 title at a year ago.
Binder backed up Acosta’s victory by claiming his best result of the season in P6, giving both sides of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing box a lot to shout about, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) the second Ducati rider home in P7.
The third Ducati rider in the standings, having been handed a post-race three-second penalty for causing contact, was Aldeguer in P8, while Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) quiet weekend ends with a Sunday P9. Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) rounded out the Austrian GP top 10, as Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Joan Mir’s stand-in Takaaki Nakagami (Honda HRC Castrol), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), and Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) collect the final points on offer.
It was more or less like yesterday. I’m a bit surprised because this morning my feeling was better than the race. Looking at the data, we were comfortable with the soft front tyre but with the medium we suffered. It’s the first time we’ve really worked well with the soft, because usually it doesn’t work so well with our bike. But here, it was good for us. Unfortunately, it was impossible to use it in the race because once you are in the slipstream, it starts to move and becomes very critical. I was expecting a little more from the race, but it didn’t happen for us this time. But it happened for Pedro, who did an incredible race. I wish to say congratulations to him.
Enea Bastianini – P11
The good feeling I had this morning wasn’t there during the race, even though we didn’t change anything. We are now trying to understand why I felt this way. In any case, I tried to overtake my rivals, push as hard as I could, and at least finish in the points. We learn from every situation, and we’ll try to come back stronger and do better in the next race.
Diogo Moreira – P15
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Misano.