The Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez was a great weekend for KTM in 2023. Brad Binder won the sprint race, and he finished second in the main race, with teammate Jack Miller close behind.
Coming into the 2024 Jerez round, KTM had high hopes, especially with rookie Acosta’s recent podium finishes. But things didn’t go as planned. The best KTM could manage was sixth place, thanks to Binder, while Acosta finished in tenth.
After the race, Acosta said KTM had too many expectations coming into Jerez and suggested they should adjust their expectations for future races.
“I think we came with too many expectations to do very well here,” Acosta said. “We need to understand that other brands are also improving. So, it might be good for us to take it easy on the races that went well last year and see what happens.”
When asked about people’s expectations of him, Acosta said he doesn’t pay attention to outside opinions. He believes predictions are not reliable because anything can happen in a race until you cross the finish line.
Acosta thinks this reality check for the brand will help them stay grounded for future races, like the one in Misano, where they did well last year.
Despite the tough weekend for KTM, Acosta is still in a good position in the championship. He’s currently fourth and is only 23 points behind the leader, Jorge Martin.
