The Tech3 GasGas rider, who celebrated his 20th birthday during the Barcelona weekend, achieved his second sprint podium of the season on Saturday and was in contention for another podium finish in the main race.
Acosta was in second place behind Pramac’s Jorge Martin when he fell off his bike at Turn 10 on the 11th lap out of 24. He got back on his bike and finished in 13th place.
Acosta said he was disappointed about his crash and mentioned that there was an issue with the front part of his bike, although it was unclear exactly what the problem was.
He clarified that the problem was not related to the pressure of the front tire.
This was his second consecutive crash in a grand prix race where he had the speed to compete for the podium. Despite feeling frustrated about not achieving that potential, he acknowledged the positive aspect of consistently being at the top during the Le Mans and Barcelona weekends.
Acosta started the race in fifth place and mentioned that, excluding the crashes, it was the best weekend of the season so far.
He expressed his disappointment about not being able to capitalize on the podium opportunity but emphasized that his bike was competitive.
Acosta was one of the four riders who chose the soft rear tire while the others opted for the medium tire.
Marc Marquez used the same strategy and climbed from 14th on the grid to third place. Acosta believed that the soft tire was the best choice to win the race and felt confident about securing at least third place even if his tire’s grip decreased.
He indicated satisfaction with his tire choice and suggested that Marquez might have encountered some tire overheating issues due to his position at the back of the leading group. Nonetheless, Acosta believed that he had the pace to finish in the top three.
