DOVIZIOSO PRAISES ACOSTA’S “ABSOLUTELY CRAZY” ARAGON MOVE AS MARQUEZ WINS

Andrea Dovizioso has pointed to Pedro Acosta’s “bit of madness” at MotorLand Aragon as the moment that swung the 2026 Aragon Grand Prix battle in the KTM rider’s favour—even though Acosta ultimately had to settle for another second place.

Marquez delivered the win at Aragon for the eighth time at the venue, and it was also his fourth victory in the previous six rounds. He crossed the line 1.754s clear of Acosta, with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi completing the podium 1.875s behind the Spaniards.

For Acosta, the result extended a pattern: he is still chasing his maiden MotoGP victory. The KTM rider entered the weekend eager to secure that first win before switching from KTM to Ducati next season, and Aragon looked like it could be the breakthrough. Instead, he added to his tally of runners-up finishes in the premier class, taking his eighth second-place result to date.

Dovizioso highlighted the key tactical and technical element behind Acosta’s strong run: his braking. He said Acosta “made the difference” under braking across the race, allowing him to stay close to Marquez despite the Ducati’s power advantage. Dovizioso also singled out Acosta’s crucial overtake on Bezzecchi during the Grand Prix, describing how the move came after Bezzecchi had braked slightly early for Turn 16.

The pass itself drew particular praise from Dovizioso because of how little room there appeared to be. He noted that Acosta hugged the kerb as he flew down the outside of Bezzecchi, a line that would have severely limited his vision. Dovizioso explained that, from Acosta’s perspective, the view is “completely blocked,” with the rider dealing with multiple reference points—two riders, the braking point, the white line and the outside kerb—while having to move left into a narrow gap.

On his YouTube channel, Dovizioso said the manoeuvre is “absolutely crazy,” adding that it is difficult to understand unless you have experienced that viewpoint yourself. He stressed that from behind, a rider cannot see what is happening clearly, and that at those speeds there is “not that much control,” with few options to gain an advantage at the moment of braking.

He also questioned whether Acosta had a special hard-braking setup on the KTM, comparing it to the approach used in Superbikes by Toprak Razgatlioglu, but said he did not know if it was a specific configuration or simply Acosta’s feel. What he did know, Dovizioso said, was that Acosta had been making up ground all race and was only managing to stay with Marquez because of his braking.

Dovizioso further underlined the risk involved: when Acosta went for that braking move, “you’re taking a risk,” because there is no certainty you will remain on the racing line. In his view, it was exactly the kind of aggressive, high-stakes decision required in moments like that.

Ultimately, Acosta’s “bit of madness” helped him turn the race around and keep pressure on Marquez to the finish. Even so, the KTM rider’s first MotoGP win still remains elusive, with Aragon ending in another close result rather than the breakthrough he is targeting before his Ducati switch.