Red Bull KTM helped put on a captivating show for more than 184,000 spectators at Misano for the Grand Prix of San Marino as Pedro Acosta captured 3rd position on the KTM RC16. The 14th round of MotoGP occurred in bright European summer conditions and across the grippy Italian venue on the Adriatic coast. Prosecco sprayed throughout the day for Red Bull KTM. In Moto3™ Brian Uriarte co-starred in a tense 20-lap race and was 3rd while Collin Veijer also made the rostrum as runner-up in Moto2™.
The 33rd Grand Prix event to mark the black Misano asphalt was busy, competitive and engaging. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 filled slots in P7 (Pedro Acosta), P12 (Pol Espargaro), P16 (Enea Bastianini) and P19 (Brad Binder) on the grid for the 27-lap distance.
Acosta, who was 6th in the Sprint on Saturday, made a strong start and then patiently built his rhythm to draw up to the rear wheel of Jorge Martin in 4th place. Pedro studied his rival, made a well-judged move and then shadowed leaders Marc and Alex Marquez. Acosta remained in striking distance of his countrymen and only eased off on the last lap; crossing the line 2.3 seconds from the winner.
Bastianini and Binder began their trawls through the pack with effective rate of progress. Enea rallied all the way up to 8th and was very close to nailing 7th. Brad tried a late lunge on Fabio Quartararo into Turn 4 to try for 10th but was denied and rested in 11th. Espargaro began the race brightly and was on the fringe of the top ten until he had to manage his stamina through the full 27-laps. Pol scored points for the second time with 14th place.
Acosta is now top five in the championship standings with 8 rounds still to come. Bastianini is 12th and Binder holds 14th.
Red Bull Ring and home territory next. The Grand Prix of Austria will start on Friday 18 September.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd and 5th in the championship: “It’s clear the motivation doesn’t go away! I’m happy! The pace was good, the bike was working quite good but we are still missing a bit in the fast sectors. Anyway, we have to be happy and the boys really deserve it.”
Brad Binder, 11th and 14th in the championship: “11th. I tried my best from the beginning until the end but I was just not fast enough. The second half of the race was better but in the first I just didn’t have the speed. All weekend I’ve been battling to find the extra I need. It would have been nice to be a bit more competitive but next week we have Austria and it’s a track that I think will suit my style a bit more and the bike too. I hope it goes better than here. Some work to do, for sure.”
