Pedro Acosta crashes on sighting lap: “The most ridiculous mistake of my career!
In wet and bleak conditions, the championship leader dramatically fell at Miller Corner at Phillip Island to give his title rivals unexpected hope.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider reacted: “We know that the wind was quite strong.
“It’s true that it was not a lot, on the track, but rhe wind was strong. Close to 50 or 60.
“I did maybe the most ridiculous mistake of my career!
“I never thought I’d crash on the sighting lap!
“But life is like this. We managed not to lose a lot, after the comeback.”
Acosta was forced to start from 31st on the grid, a task made even harder by the conditions and the cautious nature of the riding from many of his rivals.
Tony Arbolino was leading when the race was red flagged due to the weather conditions, and he was declared the winner.
Acosta finished in ninth, minimising the damage of his shocking pre-race error. He remains the championship leader.
“At the beginning of the year, the wet conditions were not our best way to race,” Acosta reacted.
“It was tough in the beginning. The problem when you’re at the back, you cannot see anything.
“In the first five or six laps I stood up to see anything!
“When I was 17th or 18th I could watch more and be faster. But a lot of guys at the front were difficult to manage.”
Acosta is coming to the end of his final year in Moto2 before he steps into MotoGP with Tech3 GASGAS.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
