PEDRO ACOSTA SAYS MISANO CRASH COST HIM TIME AFTER FP1 ELECTRONICS ISSUES

Misano’s Friday afternoon session delivered a small twist in the KTM camp, with Tech3’s Pol Espargaro producing a standout performance to go straight into Q2 in ninth place. That meant the attention on KTM’s top rider, Pedro Acosta, was briefly pushed into the background—though the Spaniard still secured a place in the second qualifying session by finishing sixth.

Acosta’s day ended with him feeling the pace was there, but not quite in the way he wanted. He noted that the KTM package wasn’t delivering the kind of performance he expects at this circuit: “The KTM doesn’t work excellently here, but it’s also not terrible.” He also pointed to a key factor behind why he couldn’t make a fully sharp time attack: “The crash in the morning cost us a bit of time.” Despite that setback, he said he was encouraged by how the bike and tyre felt once he got going: “I’m quite happy, the pace was then quite good—also the feeling with the tyre.” Still, he admitted the session didn’t turn into a “proper” qualifying run: “I didn’t manage a really good time attack—that’s just not our strength. P6 isn’t far from the front.” He referenced his own benchmark from 2025, adding: “1:30.4 was my qualifying time in 2025.”

The crash wasn’t the only issue Acosta discussed. He explained that FP1 had included unexpected technical problems: “I had a few problems; it was about the electronics. It came as a surprise because on one lap I wasn’t really pushing fully, so I was surprised.” He also linked it to recent weekend patterns, saying he had experienced crashes in sessions before, without translating that into disastrous Sunday results.

Looking ahead, Acosta said he will test the Medium rear tyre, with examples from other riders: “I need to try the Medium tyre tomorrow. For example, Alex Marquez rode it really well, Bezzecchi did 1:30.9 with it.” He added that the Soft could also be an option. Finally, he addressed Misano-specific setup changes to his RC16, explaining that the bike was run “very long” compared with Aragon’s shorter configuration, and that the plan appeared to work: “The bike has improved; the plan seems to have worked.”