The press conference held after the Grand Prix MotoGP of Portugal, at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimao, brought together George Martin, Enea Bastianini et Peter Acosta to answer various questions from journalists.
Peter Acosta particularly distinguished himself during the GP, overtaking without firing a shot Brad Binder, Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, to finally get on the podium after the fall of Maverick Vinales in the last lap. The only rookie of this 2024 season unleashes enthusiasm but keeps a cool head...
As usual, we report his words here without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Ladies and gentlemen, hello and welcome to the post-race press conference at the end of an incredible and thrilling Tissot Portuguese Grand Prix here at the Algarve International Circuit. Our top three drivers, led by race winner and new world championship leader, Jorge Martin for Prima Pramac Racing, Jorge's first Sunday victory since that superb finish in Thailand last October. Very close second, he pressed him to the end, the rider of the Ducati Lenovo team, Enea Bastianini. A great weekend for Enea Of course, after his pole position yesterday. And making history is Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 driver Pedro Acosta, who is only 19 years old. He is the third youngest driver in the history of the premier category to reach the podium. You had an incredible race today, Pedro. Congratulations to all three of you, gentlemen.
After today's press conference, it is hard to believe that he is a beginner, he is on the podium in his second MotoGP race. You overtook Brad Binder, you overtook Marc Marquez, you overtook world champion Pecco Bagnaia, on the podium in 3rd place. As we said, he is the third youngest driver in the history of the premier class to do this. What are your emotions right now after this incredible race?
Peter Acosta : “We can be happy, we can be happy!” I mean, remember Friday afternoon I wasn't in Q2. It was the first complicated weekend for us because it was a new circuit for us with a MotoGP. Imagine that on the first day of shakedown, I was quite far from Pol and Dani. The management is much easier, you know, they manage my head in a super nice way. I know I'm sometimes not the easiest person on a race weekend. I'm very happy, because you can't imagine all the work they do in the afternoon and at night. Every morning, when I wake up, I have around twenty messages in the phone from my data and also from my team leader, with a lot of things to improve or a lot of things to check. That's why I'm super happy, super happy about this weekend. »
You talked after the race between you, before you got on the podium, and you obviously saw the incident between Pecco and Marc. I would like to know your opinion, and I have another question for you, Pedro. We saw you moving forward. When did you think you could at least get into the top 5 or top 4?
“Well, in the end, I had speed. I mean this situation is completely normal for me, with a full tank and many laps to go. At the moment, the sprint race is quite difficult, because you see these guys going hard from the start and not worrying about anything, you know, and I have some problems with the small tank, but anyway to In the end I was very comfortable with the bike in both races, like in Qatar, for overtaking. It's a very familiar feeling, you know, from the days of Moto3 and the Rookies Cup, with the front tire. That's why I didn't focus on the top 5, but on how the race went, on how I had to save tires, because in Qatar we saw that I I had a lot of trouble at the end of the race. I also tried to copy Pecco's movements on the bike, because he is one of the best at saving tires on Sundays. I am happy that I was able to learn a lot from him. »
Pedro, did you have chattering today or yesterday?
“Well, a little vibration with the medium, but yesterday I think I need to understand a lot more when I put the hard in the front and the soft in the back, because it creates a little bit of vibration for me skating, and I wasn't super comfortable. But yes, in the end we have to understand that it was the first time I used these erasers. I need time to understand all these things. But yes, a little today, but in Qatar it wasn't like that, so it depends on the day. »
Pedro, you told us three days ago that you were going to learn from the presence of Brad and Jack Miller. What did you learn today from being behind them and passing them?
"Well, I just thought about passing them, I didn't have time to think." To be honest, I learned a lot from Pecco seeing how he moved his body and how he played with the angle of the bike. But about KTM, I mean it's quite complicated to understand something behind them, in a race, in race mode, because sometimes with the wind and turbulence your head is moving and you're not focused 100% to see the trajectories and to see how they play with the bike. But it's true, like I said yesterday, maybe we lost a lot in turns 4 and 5, and then in turns 5 and 6. And today, seeing Pecco play with the bike and with the body helped me understand how to ride during the race. »
Results of the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
