The three-day MotoGP Shakedown at Sepang gave Pedro Acosta an initial reason to smile. The top class rookie appeared immediately comfortable aboard the GASGAS RC16, so much so that he set the fastest time – despite two crashes – during the course of the final day. His reference, a 1'58”189, would have seen him qualify on row three of the grid for the 2023 Malaysian GP.

Pedro Acosta already at ease in MotoGP

As he prepares to measure himself against the Ducati platoon that will be on track on 6-8 February, the two-time world champion can be pleased. “Three intense days of work”, explains the Spaniard at the end of the shakedown. “I spent most of my time trying to adapt my riding style to the bike, understand the MotoGP tyres and practice over race distance. Considering the conditions, I also had chance to ride in the wet”.

“I was able to make some fast laps, but the important thing is the pace we demonstrated during the race simulations in the dry”, continues #31, before complimenting KTM test rider Pedrosa. “I tried to follow Dani for a while in an attempt to understand his lines and compare them to mine, but it wasn’t easy. During the next Sepang test I’ll try to improve more, follow the other riders and better understand MotoGP, but for now I’m happy”, concludes the current Moto2 world champion.