Pedro Acosta comments on the positive results obtained so far before his first home race.
How much are you looking forward to racing in Jerez, after the good results?
“It’s nice to race for the first time with all the fans and this atmosphere, it’s like Mugello for the Italian riders, the big party of the season for us. KTM was fast here and also did some tests: when you know that the The bike can go well, you feel stronger, but I haven’t gotten on the bike yet. We did well in America, but nobody knows how I’ll fare here in Jerez and we’ll also have Pedrosa as a wild card.”
Will you enter the history of this track on Sunday?
“First of all I have to start on Friday to understand the tyres, the bike and the track, which isn’t easy for me at the moment. Then we will try to stay calm in difficult moments: if we arrive it’s fine, but we must try to stay calm and not fly in our thoughts.”
What would you tell a Rookies Cup driver to grow?
“It’s certainly nice to get to the Rookies Cup, get on the Moto3 and arrive in the MotoGP paddock, you start to feel like a paddock boy and it’s not so easy when you race in the smaller categories. You try to run without pressure to have fun, trying to take all the tips. The season isn’t long and you don’t spend too much time on the bike, free practice and qualifying take place on Friday and you have to adapt to many things: I think the most important thing is to have fun”
You just mentioned Daniel Pedrosa, before you said that he helped you and this is a special race that he has done many times, did he give you any advice?
“Not too much, we talked about the start, the bikes and these issues. I think it’s good that I communicate my feelings to him, so that he keeps them in mind during the tests. It’s very important to listen to Dani because he has enormous experience, even when he isn’t talking about MotoGP he can always take something from him”
You are growing very fast, can you see anything different compared to your first races?
“Yes, but it’s not my job, I have to improve my driving. Today the aerodynamics, the electronics are the worst part for a rookie, in the end I changed some things but not too many, we are much more focused on understanding what the race weekends are like for us and going faster”
How do you stay on the ground with the excellent results you are achieving in MotoGP?
“It’s very easy actually, I just go about my life. I come home after every race, I see people fishing and working hard for everyday life. I see real life”
Will you follow Dani Pedrosa with the bike on the track tomorrow?
“Yes sure. We know the experience he has on this track and in MotoGP in general, when you talk to him you’re not talking to a normal rider, but with history, I have many more things to learn from him than he from me”
Hervé Poncharal said you have something magical…
“Hervé is very happy and that’s why he says this (he jokes, ed.). We don’t do anything different than the KTM riders, Jack and Brad’s speed is incredible, I’m learning from them: every day I observe trying to take something from each , with all the work we do it’s not easy to go wrong”
Massimo Rivola said that the Aprilia is the best bike of all…
“You have to say it, I could say the same about mine. At the moment I have so many problems thinking about my bike that I honestly don’t have time to look at the others”
On the use of tires…
“The tires are different compared to Moto3, the manufacturers know how to make bikes and know how to make them fast. At the moment I’m trying to improve the exit, because I can’t get close to the rider in front to catch the slipstream”
On the boxing match between Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo…
“I’m betting on Dani: he’s small and if he gets close he’ll fight, then Jorge isn’t at his best let’s say. I would face Oncu in the box, it would be a good show”
What rating do you give to the feeling with the bike?
“As far as I’m concerned, every day there’s something new, it’s not normal to arrive in practice and set a time and then in the next session set a time half a second faster. Every day we discover something new and make small improvements, I give the staff 10, I can’t comment on the bike”
