Pedro Acosta admits “I don’t really care” about penalty in US MotoGP sprint

Pedro Acosta finished the US MotoGP sprint in third place before a post-race penalty saw him drop to eighth.

The KTM rider, who sits third in the championship heading into today’s United States Grand Prix, was penalised for a low tyre pressure which elevated fellow KTM rider Enea Bastianini into the bronze medal position. 

Acosta received an eight-second penalty for failing to meet the required 30% of laps above the minimum pressure. The sanction meant that Alex Marquez, Luca Marini, Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez all gained one position. 

Speaking to MotoGP.com post-race, Acosta said: “Being honest [with you], I don’t really care about the penalty. 

“We made a good race and these things can happen. We have to keep going with our job. 

“We are making a good start to the season compared to last year. We have to keep going in this direction.”

With Acosta in eighth, Bastianini third, and Maverick Vinales taking no further part in the weekend after withdrawing on Friday, Brad Binder finished last of the three KTM riders in 12th.

Binder has struggled throughout the weekend, and admits he’s “missing pace and missing rhythm”.   

Binder added: “I would have hoped for a much, much better sprint for sure. 

“Just really missing speed this weekend. I’m not quite fast enough. Missing pace and missing rhythm too. 

“[I] need to really do some homework [for the grand prix] and figure out where the boys are smoking me and try to make up for it.”

Binder also confirmed he would not be using the soft rear tyre in the 19-lap grand prix, which could be a strategy used by many given the drop in performance it had during the 10-lap sprint. 

“I think the tyre [we will use in the race] seems to work a little bit better for us”, said Binder. “I feel a lot more comfortable with that than the soft in the rear. 

“However, I still need to figure out this sector one and two and find a bit more flow through there.”