GASGAS Tech3 ‘cannot wait’ to see Acosta ‘express himself’ at Portimao

After an eye-catching MotoGP debut in Qatar, which peaked with a pass on Marc Marquez for fourth in the middle stages of the grand prix, GASGAS Tech3 “cannot wait” to see rookie Pedro Acosta “express himself “ at the undulating Portimao circuit this weekend.

Acosta took everything in his stride during his premier-class debut, breezing directly into Qualifying 2 with sixth after a rain-altered practice schedule, then qualifying eighth.

The Sprint race saw the Spanish teenager rise from outside the top ten to eighth, before going on the attack in the full-length grand prix. Tenth after the opening lap, Acosta soon passed Aleix Espargaro and Fabio di Giannantonio, then both Marquez brothers, Alex and Marc.

Acosta’s confidence was clear as he spectacularly slid the front and rear of his RC16, although the exuberance compromised his tyre wear and he later faded to eighth.

Round two in Portimao will be a very different challenge, not least because, unlike Qatar, there is no test session before the race weekend. But it’s a circuit Acosta likes, with victory in Moto2 last season as well as his rookie 2021 Moto3 campaign.

"Portimao is a circuit that I like and we have a very good feeling after Qatar,” Acosta said. “The main objective is to keep adapting to the bike and the category and try to continue with the Qatar dynamic.

“That is to say, to have a good Friday and a good Saturday to get to the sprint and the race as well positioned as possible on the grid. I'm looking forward to riding the MotoGP bike at this circuit."

Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon is excited to see what Acosta can do after his ‘dream’ debut.

“One week ago, we left Qatar after a dreamy opening round as we saw our rookie Pedro Acosta shining all weekend,” Goyon said. “He qualified to Q2 after Practice, scored his first points at the Tissot Sprint and concluded the weekend with a top 10 result in the main race, which had not happened to a rookie since 2021.

“At Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, we cannot wait to see a talent like him express himself on such an atypical circuit like Portimao, where he won last season in Moto2.”

Meanwhile, Acosta’s team-mate Augusto Fernandez finished just 17th in Qatar but Goyon believes he is progressing with the latest RC16, featuring a carbon fibre chassis.

“Augusto Fernandez is starting to feel more comfortable on the bike, and the Qatar race was when he felt the best since the start of 2024,” Goyon said. “We know that he will head to this first European round with the positives from Qatar, in order to be back where he should be. “