Pedro Acosta finished sixth in the Misano MotoGP Sprint, with Fermín Aldeguer eighth after a battle between the two riders cost them positions. Aldeguer had qualified third in Q2—his best MotoGP qualifying result of the season so far—but could not hold that position through the opening-lap sequence.

Fabio Di Giannantonio passed Aldeguer at turn four on the first lap, followed by Jorge Martin. Acosta then moved past Aldeguer’s Gresini at turn eight. Acosta and Aldeguer subsequently ran wide while fighting, allowing Álex Márquez to pass them; Raúl Fernández also got past Aldeguer during the incident sequence.

Two views of the battle

Acosta said the fight with Aldeguer was costly in terms of time and described it as “stupid”, while also characterising it as fair enough in a racing context. Aldeguer said he enjoyed the contest and called it a nice battle. He added that contact in the final part created the opportunity for Álex Márquez to gain two positions.

Aldeguer considered the later exchange with Raúl Fernández closer to the limit, saying Fernández slowed him and that contact followed. The supplied accounts do not agree on the exact corner numbering for the decisive contact: one places the Acosta–Aldeguer exchange around turns eight and nine, while Aldeguer refers to the final exchange as being in the ninth or tenth corner.

Different plans, difficult conditions

Aldeguer said his plan was to follow Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez from the start. However, the tyre-pressure setting had been intended for running with only one or two bikes, which made it difficult to manage when he found himself among five or six riders. He said the Sprint still provided useful information for the following day.

Acosta also reported that he was struggling to stop the motorcycle effectively at Misano. He said braking was not normally his weakest area, that the team had not yet found a solution and that KTM’s riders were experiencing the same problem during the weekend.