Jonas Folger: “Acosta can cross the limits” / MotoGP

2021 world champion in the Moto3 class, two years later in the Moto2 World Championship. And in his first year of MotoGP, Pedro Acosta has been on the front row from the start. In his second Grand Prix in Portimao he roared onto the podium in third place, and in Austin the 19-year-old followed with second place. He still has time to become the youngest MotoGP winner Marc Marquez holds this record for 20 years and 63 days.

The MotoGP paddock is fascinated by Acosta’s success, fans around the world are at the young man’s feet. Ahead of his home GP in Jerez in southern Spain next weekend, he is in an astonishing fourth place in the World Championship.

Jonas Folger, a former MotoGP and Superbike World Championship rider who has been working for KTM as a test rider since 2023, is also enthusiastic about Acosta. “Everyone was surprised by what he did in Portimao and he has been doing it ever since,” said the Bavarian when he met SPEEDWEEK.com. “He looks playful, you can see his talent and that he drives with complete freedom. He doesn’t think too much about it, he drives instinctively and follows when he attacks. He can go beyond certain limits without having a big fall. What Marc Marquez did for a long time on Honda, he is now doing on GASGAS. He approaches it with a lightheartedness that a long-time MotoGP rider might not have. He’s taking advantage of it now.”

Pedro easily managed to switch to a MotoGP bike, which has almost twice the power of a Moto2 bike and around 300 hp. “As a great racing driver with exceptional talent, you have a short time to adapt,” says Folger. “That was also the case with Fabio Quartararo at the time; If someone wins in Moto2, then he has the ability to race in MotoGP.