Misplaced Pages

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. 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, 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.

Career

Early career

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.

Moto3 World Championship

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. 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

Red Bull KTM Ajo (2022–2023)

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

MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull GasGas Tech3 (2024)

Acosta was promoted to MotoGP for 2024 with Red Bull GasGas Tech3. 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. 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). 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. After a long period without podium he manage to finish third of the sprint race and the main race of the Aragon GP.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2025–)

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.

Career statistics

Career highlights

• 2017: 1st, FIM CEV PreMoto3 Championship

European Talent Cup

Races by year

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

FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship

Races by year

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

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

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

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

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

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

References

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.

External links

• Pedro Acosta at MotoGP.com
• Pedro Acosta at AS.com (in Spanish)

v t e Tech3
MotoGP	Red Bull GasGas Tech3 Pedro Acosta (31) Augusto Fernández (37)
Moto3	Red Bull GasGas Tech3 Jacob Roulstone (12) Daniel Holgado (96)
MotoE	Tech3 E-Racing Nicholas Spinelli (29) Alessandro Zaccone (61)
Grand Prix motorcycles	KTM RC16 (MotoGP) GasGas RC250GP (Moto3) Ducati V21L (MotoE)

• 2004 births
• Living people
• Moto3 World Championship riders
• Spanish motorcycle racers
• People from Mazarrón
• Moto2 World Championship riders
• Sportspeople from the Region of Murcia
• Moto3 World Riders' Champions
• Moto2 World Riders' Champions
• MotoGP World Championship riders
• Tech3 MotoGP riders