The Portuguese Grand Prix of MotoGP, held a few days ago on the Portimão track, saw Pedro Acosta achieve his first podium in the premier class at his second attempt. The driver from Mazarrón completed a sensational race, which already places him among the favorites for the rest of the season. Comparisons with the greats of motorcycling abound, so let’s look at some numbers.
Only Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Márquez better than Acosta on his debut
On the race of Pedro Acosta it has already been widely discussed in recent days, highlighting the debutant’s performance as one of the best of all time. Avoiding the bar talk, it’s time to take a quick look at the numbers. Narrowing the field to the MotoGP era (i.e. from the 2002 season, ed), the number of champions capable of doing better in the first season in top class It’s pretty narrow. Going in chronological order, Daniel Pedrosa he obtained 2nd place on his debut on the Jerez de la Frontera track, during the 2006 Spanish GP. Same result obtained by Jorge Lorenzo in 2008, when with Yamaha he achieved the first podium of his career at the Qatar GP. In the end, Marc Márquez he finished 3rd in Lusail on his MotoGP debut.
Only these three phenomena were able to do better than #31 GASGAS. Draw with the reigning Moto2 World Champion Jorge Martin. The Spaniard, who made his MotoGP debut in 2021, impressed everyone straight away aboard the Desmosedici. On the Lusail circuit, at the second Grand Prix on the same circuit (the first called the Qatar GP while the second Doha GP, ed), Martín finished in 3rd place behind the two Frenchmen Quartararo and Zarco. Other drivers who were quick to take their first podium include names of the caliber of Casey Stoner (2nd in Türkiye in 2006 at the 3rd GP, ed) or Brad Binderwinner in Brno, third event of the 2020 season.
The comparison with Valentino Rossi
After talking about modern MotoGP, the time has come to take a small step back to talk about Pedro Acosta in relation to Valentino Rossi. The two, in addition to their boundless talent, also share a strong personality, capable of entering the hearts of fans. The comparison made by the Spaniard between his debut in MotoGP and the loss of his virginity is already famous: an exit “Rossinian”, someone would say. “The Doctor” he made his debut in the then 500cc in 2000, suffering from inexperience in the first races. In fact, VR46 had to wait for Jerez de la Frontera, at the 4th round of the season, to celebrate the first podium in 500cc, and then win the first GP at Donington Park, the 9th round of the season. Remaining on the two-stroke, the debut of is now history Max Biaggi in 1998: the Roman, riding the Honda of the Kanemoto team, won the Japanese Grand Prix on the historic Suzuka track on his absolute debut.
How much are statistics worth?
The title was deliberately written in a provocative way: it could very well be the most classic of “click-catchers”, but the reflection to be made would be different. That is, how much value do statistics have? But above all, can drivers from such different eras be compared? The numbers, in most cases, remain numbers. We knew that Pedro Acosta is a phenomenon well before the start of the season: the podium in Portimão is only confirmation of this, but the opinion on the Spaniard born in 2004 would not have changed if he had stood on the podium for the first time at COTA rather than in Jerez de la Frontera.
The curious fact would be another: Pedro Acosta, at 19 years and 304 days, is the 3rd youngest rider in history to get on the podium in a premier class race. The record goes to Randy Mamola (19 years and 261 days, ed), 2nd in Imatra (Finland) in 1979. If Mamola is quite well known among enthusiasts, in second place is Eduardo Salatino, 3rd in the 1962 Argentine Grand Prix. Salatino’s podium arrived in rather particular circumstances , given that most of the Europeans deserted such an expensive trip. Often the speed with which a result is achieved is not synonymous with success, as Mamola himself testifies: the American, despite the memory he generates in long-time fans, has zero world titles won.
Pedro Acosta: the carefreeness that makes MotoGP more enjoyable
In the history of motorsport in general there have been many drivers who, due to their reckless and acrobatic driving style, have entered the hearts of enthusiasts. Often, however, the latter have not had too much success: perhaps this is precisely one of the reasons why they are adored. The example of Jack Miller, to cite the most recent, is clear. Pedro Acosta could easily fit into this category. In the Portuguese Grand Prix the Spaniard certainly didn’t pay attention to the wear of his Michelins, a critical issue for many drivers. Overtaking after overtaking for “El tiburón” in the 25 laps on the rollercoaster Portuguese, without having to account to anyone for the wear of their tyres. The overtakings of the #31 represented a good part of those made throughout the Grand Prix. In addition to being talented, Acosta, at least in the first two weekends of the year, put on a great show in the battles. This makes the races more enjoyable, in general: the new MotoGP phenomenon has all it takes to become the face of the future of the MotoGP, which will probably go into the hands of Liberty Media, according to the news of the last few days.
Valentino Aggio
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