Pedro Acosta, a 22-year-old Spanish rider, has secured his first MotoGP victory at the Austrian Grand Prix held on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. This win comes after 56 MotoGP races, including a record 15 podium finishes. Acosta's achievement also marks the end of KTM's win drought that had lasted since 2022. He overcame challenges, including a crash during Saturday's sprint race and Sunday's warm-up session.
Acosta started Sunday's main race strong, leading from the beginning and maintaining a steady pace throughout the 28 laps. He finished 1.017 seconds ahead of Aprilia's Jorge Martin, who started from the front row. Martin had to withstand pressure from his teammate, Marco Bezzecchi, to secure the second spot. Meanwhile, current world champion Marc Marquez struggled with his Ducati, finishing fifth, 7.3 seconds behind Acosta.
The race began with Martin taking the lead into the first turn, followed closely by Bezzecchi. Ai Ogura of Trackhouse Aprilia overtook Marquez around the second turn to claim third place. Bezzecchi took the lead at the start of the second lap but was quickly overtaken by Martin. Acosta moved up to third and later overtook Bezzecchi to secure second place.
As the race progressed, Acosta applied pressure on Martin, nearly making contact in the eighth lap when Martin's Aprilia ran wide. Acosta seized the opportunity to take the lead and maintained it until the end. Martin kept the gap between 0.6 and 0.8 seconds for most of the race but ultimately couldn't withstand Acosta's pressure.
In the final laps, Martin managed to stay ahead of Bezzecchi by a narrow margin of 0.192 seconds. Ogura finished fourth, 0.930 seconds behind Bezzecchi. Marquez, the defending champion, had a challenging race, dropping to a low position before recovering to fifth place. He overtook Gresini's Fermin Aldeguer and KTM's Brad Binder to secure his position.
Binder finished sixth, followed by Pecco Bagnaia in seventh on the second factory Ducati. Aldeguer was demoted to eighth after the race due to contact in the final laps. Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 and Johann Zarco of LCR completed the top ten. This victory propels Acosta into the championship standings, while Martin reclaims the lead with 306 points.
The current championship standings see Martin leading with 306 points, followed by Marquez with 294 points, Bezzecchi with 264 points, and Acosta with 234 points. Binder is 13th with 94 points. Acosta's win marks a significant milestone in his career, and his team will look to build on this momentum in the remaining races.
Key points
- Pedro Acosta secured his first MotoGP victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.
- Acosta's win ended KTM's win drought that had lasted since 2022.
- Jorge Martin maintains the championship lead with 306 points.
