Pedro Acosta left the Indonesian Grand Prix with MotoGP’s minimum tyre-pressure rule at the centre of his post-race criticism. During Sunday’s 27-lap race at Mandalika, the KTM rider struggled with the pressure of his front tyre and was repeatedly forced to manage his position within the group.

The pressure dropped below the 1.8-bar threshold, prompting a warning. Acosta had to let Marc Márquez through and then take the position back when circumstances allowed, repeating the exchange several times. Staying below the minimum for too many laps could have brought a 16-second time penalty. Acosta summed up the awkward spectacle by saying that the riders “looked like donkeys”, highlighting how the regulation distorted a normal on-track fight.

The issue had already affected the weekend: Jorge Martín lost Saturday’s Sprint victory over a similar tyre-pressure problem. Teams choose their pressures before the start by predicting how the race will unfold, but the calculation can be undermined by changing pace, battles and each rider’s place in the group.

Acosta’s proposed solution is to check the minimum pressure on the grid before the start and then avoid penalising riders for what develops on track. At Mandalika, he said the repeated swaps with Márquez cost significant time and removed his opportunity to fight for a top-four result. Ai Ogura caught the pair and had the stronger pace. Acosta nevertheless considered his own performance positive: he was the leading rider outside Aprilia and had improved compared with the previous day.