Pedro Acosta (motorcyclist)

Pedro Acosta Sánchez (born 25 May 2004) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing in MotoGP for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team.[1] Acosta took his maiden win in only his second Moto3 race at the 2021 Doha motorcycle Grand Prix after starting from the pitlane for irresponsible riding in free practice. In the same season, he won the 2021 Moto3 World Championship becoming the first rookie champion since Loris Capirossi in 1990,[2] and the second youngest ever champion, just one day older than Capirossi was at the time of winning. In 2023, Acosta won the Moto2 world championship with 2 races to go. Acosta is also a champion of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, having won the title in 2020.

Pedro Acosta
Acosta in 2023
NationalitySpanish
Born (2004-05-25) 25 May 2004 (age 20)
Mazarrón, Spain
Current team Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Bike number37
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years2024
ManufacturersKTM
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
19 0 5 1 2 215
Moto2 World Championship
Active years20222023
ManufacturersKalex
Championships1 (2023)
2023 championship position1st (332.5 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
38 10 19 4 9 509.5
Moto3 World Championship
Active years2021
ManufacturersKTM
Championships1 (2021)
2021 championship position1st (259 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
18 6 8 1 1 259

Career

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Early career

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Acosta participated in various national competitions, winning in 2017 in the PreMoto3 category. In 2018 he entered the Junior Moto3 World Championship. In 2019 he also raced in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, finishing second, winning three races. He finished as champion the following year, winning six races in total, all six coming consecutively at the first six races of the season.[3]

Moto3 World Championship

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In 2021 he made his debut racing in Moto3 class with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. In his first race in Qatar, he finished in second place, becoming one of just a handful of riders to score a podium on their Grand Prix debut. On 4 April 2021 he won the Doha Motorcycle Grand Prix starting from pitlane, becoming the first rider in the history of Moto3 to accomplish this feat.[4][5] Acosta would later win the next two races in Portugal and Spain, becoming the first rider in Grand Prix history to get on the podium in all of his first four races. He would win three more races during the season, in Germany, Styria, and Algarve, becoming champion in Algarve, when Darryn Binder crashed into Acosta's main title rival Dennis Foggia. He won the championship by 43 points, and became the first rookie champion of the Moto3 class since 1990, when Loris Capirossi won the 125cc title. Acosta was only one day older (17 years, 166 days) than Capirossi (17 years, 165 days) when they won their respective titles.

Moto2 World Championship

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Red Bull KTM Ajo (2022–2023)

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Acosta was promoted to Moto2 with the same team in 2022, joining compatriot Augusto Fernández who also moved from Marc VDS Racing Team.[6] He recorded his first Moto2 win during the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello.[7] After missing two rounds due to a broken femur sustained in a training accident,[8] he won another race in Aragón.[9] Acosta won the 2023 Moto2 World Championship.

MotoGP World Championship

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Red Bull GasGas Tech3 (2024)

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Acosta was promoted to MotoGP for 2024 with Red Bull GasGas Tech3.[10] He impressed in Qatar as he finished P8 in the sprint and P9 in the race, where he was as high as P4, but slowed due to tyre degradation.[11][12] In Portimao, he achieved a podium in the main race, having overtaken experienced riders Brad Binder, Marc Marquez (both in turn 1) and Francesco Bagnaia (in turn 3).[13][14] At the Circuit of the Americas he fought Marquez again, as well as Jorge Martin only to finish P4 in the sprint, but in the main race he led a race for the first time and made moves that would have seen either a rider go wide on the exit of the corner or crash, he finished P2 behind Maverick Vinales.[15][16] After a long period without podium he manage to finish third of the sprint race and the main race of the Aragon GP.[17][18]

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2025–)

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Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, it was announced that Pedro Acosta had signed a multi-year deal with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the 2025 season.[19]

Career statistics

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Career highlights

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  • 2017: 1st, FIM CEV PreMoto3 Championship

European Talent Cup

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts
2017 Honda ALB1
ALB2
CAT
VAL1
EST1
EST2
JER1
JER2
ARA1
ARA2
VAL2
Ret
NC 0

FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts
2018 KTM EST VAL1 VAL2 FRA CAT1
Ret
CAT2
DNS
ARA
13
JER1
27
JER2
19
ALB VAL1 VAL2 33rd 3
2019 KTM EST VAL1 VAL2 FRA CAT1 CAT2 ARA JER1
4
JER2
5
ALB
18
VAL1
17
VAL2
6
16th 34
2020 KTM EST
2
POR
1
JER1
Ret
JER2
3
JER3
3
ARA1
Ret
ARA2
2
ARA3
6
VAL1
2
VAL2
1
VAL3
1
3rd 177

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts
2019 JER1
DNS
JER2
DNS
MUG
2
ASS1
2
ASS2
15
SAC1
1
SAC2
4
RBR1
1
RBR2
5
MIS
1
ARA1
4
ARA2
7
2nd 162
2020 RBR1
1
RBR1
1
RBR2
1
RBR2
1
ARA1
1
ARA1
1
ARA2
2
ARA2
10
VAL1
Ret
VAL1
2
VAL2
14
VAL2
3
1st 214

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

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By season

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Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh
2021 Moto3 KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 18 6 8 1 1 259 1st 1
2022 Moto2 Kalex Red Bull KTM Ajo 18 3 5 1 1 177 5th
2023 Moto2 Kalex Red Bull KTM Ajo 20 7 14 3 8 332.5 1st 1
2024 MotoGP KTM Red Bull GasGas Tech3 19 0 5 1 2 215 6th
Total 75 16 32 6 12 983.5 2

By class

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Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
Moto3 2021 2021 Qatar 2021 Qatar 2021 Doha 18 6 8 1 1 259 1
Moto2 2022–2023 2022 Qatar 2022 Italy 2022 Italy 38 10 19 4 9 509.5 1
MotoGP 2024–present 2024 Qatar 2024 Portugal 19 0 5 1 2 215
Total 2021–present 75 16 32 6 12 983.5 2

Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Pts
2021 Moto3 KTM QAT
2
DOH
1
POR
1
SPA
1
FRA
8
ITA
8
CAT
7
GER
1
NED
4
STY
1
AUT
4
GBR
11
ARA
Ret
RSM
7
AME
8
EMI
3
ALR
1
VAL
Ret
1st 259
2022 Moto2 Kalex QAT
12
INA
9
ARG
7
AME
Ret
POR
Ret
SPA
20
FRA
Ret
ITA
1
CAT
6
GER
2
NED GBR
DNS
AUT
4
RSM
6
ARA
1
JPN
7
THA
16
AUS
2
MAL
Ret
VAL
1
5th 177
2023 Moto2 Kalex POR
1
ARG
12
AME
1
SPA
2
FRA
Ret
ITA
1
GER
1
NED
3
GBR
3
AUT
2
CAT
6
RSM
1
IND
1
JPN
3
INA
1
AUS
9
THA
2
MAL
2
QAT
8
VAL
12
1st 332.5
2024 MotoGP KTM QAT
98
POR
37
AME
24
SPA
102
FRA
Ret6
CAT
133
ITA
53
NED
Ret
GER
7
GBR
95
AUT
13
ARA
33
RSM
176
EMI
Ret5
INA
26
JPN
Ret
AUS
DNS
THA
3
MAL
59
SLD
10
6th 215

Half points awarded as less than half of the race distance (but at least three full laps) was completed.
* Season still in progress.

References

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  1. ^ "Acosta seals MotoGP Promotion for GasGas Tech 3 in 2024". www.motorsport.com.
  2. ^ "Record breaking Pedro Acosta first rookie champ since Capirossi". 7 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Chi è Pedro Acosta, il 16enne che ha trionfato in Moto3 a Doha". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Doha Moto3: KTM's Pedro Acosta charges from pitlane to win". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Moto3 Doha: Acosta amazes with maiden win from pit lane". Crash. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Acosta, Fernandez join Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 for 2022". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Another record: Pedro Acosta debuts on the wins in Moto2 at Mugello". Motorcycle Sports. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Another record: Acosta breaks left femur in training accident". MotoGP. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  9. ^ Fialho, Fábio. "Rookie but maybe not that much: Acosta returns to the wins at Aragon". Motorcycle Sports. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Espargaro moved aside for Acosta's MotoGP arrival at Tech3 in 2024". 6 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Martin remains the king of the Sprints in Qatar". The Official Home of MotoGP. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Bagnaia back on top after perfection in Qatar". The Official Home of MotoGP. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Viñales victorious as Marc Marquez strikes late on Martin". The Official Home of MotoGP. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Martin wins and Acosta makes history as Bagnaia and Marquez collide". The Official Home of MotoGP. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Victory for Viñales as Martin fights back for third". The Official Home of MotoGP. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  16. ^ "All-time classic: Viñales makes history with stunning COTA comeback". The Official Home of MotoGP. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Aragon sprint race".
  18. ^ "Aragon main race".
  19. ^ "Pedro Acosta to continue Red Bull KTM story with fresh MotoGP™ contract". www.ktm.com. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
Champion

2020
Succeeded by