PEDRO ACOSTA CRASHES AGAIN IN AUSTRIAN WARM-UP AFTER SPRINT FALL

Pedro Acosta’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend took another twist in the build-up to Sunday’s 28-lap race at the Red Bull Ring, after he crashed twice in quick succession. The KTM rider had already come off late in Saturday’s Sprint while running comfortably at the front, and then—despite returning to action for Sunday morning’s warm-up—he fell again.

In warm-up, Acosta was caught out at the chicane while looking down at his dash, and the incident turned into a faster crash at the end of the session. His RC16 bounced through the gravel at Turn 9, but he was unharmed and still managed to finish warm-up third. He was behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Ducati’s Marc Marquez.

Speaking to the riders during the parade, Acosta joked about the pattern: “Well, normally when I f**k up in the warm-ups, I perform quite well in races!” He also described how the bike felt across the two sessions, saying, “It’s true that the bike yesterday was feeling perfect, and today was feeling not so bad, [even] using the soft front.”

Acosta’s comments suggested tyre choice may have played a role in his warm-up fall. The soft front was used in warm-up, while the medium front was needed for the grand prix. He said he was now focused on what the front-runners could do on track: “For this, let’s see what pace these guys put on track, and then if we can follow.”

With the race approaching, Acosta played down any pressure about winning, pointing instead to avoiding a repeat of his own mistake. “I prefer not to think about whether I can win,” he said, adding that he would try not to make the same error again: “For this let’s try to don’t make it again.”

KTM’s problems in warm-up were not limited to Acosta. Team-mate Brad Binder also ended up in the gravel after a highside at Turn 4 and failed to set a lap time. Binder explained what happened during the parade: “I turned in, no gas... I think it was a cold tyre.”

While Acosta and Binder dealt with crashes, the front of the field looked set for a long, tyre-sensitive contest. Marc Marquez, who finished second in the Sprint and lost the championship lead to Jorge Martin, said he would be happy to repeat the result but warned the race would be tougher. “If I can repeat the same result, I will be super happy, but it will be more difficult because it will be a very long race,” Marquez said. He pointed to changing bike behaviour as tyres wear: “The bike character is changing a lot from the beginning to the end [with the tyre wear], so we need to understand well what we can do.”

Marquez also compared this year to last: “Last year was easier!” and added that the challenge would be greater in 2026, but he would still chase maximum points: “This year will be more difficult [to win] and but we’ll try to take the maximum points possible.”

Jorge Martin, who won the Sprint after fighting back from eighth following an opening-lap tangle with Marquez, sounded confident heading into the race. Fourth in warm-up, the Spaniard said, “I feel really good. I think today I have another good opportunity.” He acknowledged the strength of the opposition but believed he belongs among the contenders: “For sure, the opponents are strong, but I feel like one of the top contenders for today.” Martin’s plan centred on the start and staying composed early: “Let’s try to do a great start, not take any risk at the beginning, and then it will be a really long race.”

Bezzecchi, who was fastest for the first time this weekend, insisted he still has work to do despite his warm-up position. “As you saw during the weekend, Pedro, Jorge and Marc, they’ve been super quick, so I’m in fourth place,” he said. “I’ll try my best to stay close to them and, hopefully, I will have the pace to attack.”

Beyond Sunday’s race, there was also news from the paddock about Monday’s 850cc/Pirelli test. Gresini’s Alex Marquez—who will join the factory KTM team in 2027—said he will remain at the circuit for the test even though he is not permitted to ride. “Tomorrow I will stay here for the test - I will not test, but just to take a look because, you know, I’m not allowed to try nothing!” he said. He added that he plans to relax instead: “I will have a nice lunch up there on the top of the hill, in the hotel, and chill.”

Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix starts at 2pm local time (1pm UK), with Acosta aiming to turn his warm-up setbacks into race-day momentum.