Pedro Acosta was visibly frustrated after the French MotoGP Grand Prix, but his anger was not solely due to losing fourth place at Le Mans. The real sting came from Fabio Di Giannantonio’s gesture after overtaking him on the final lap, in the last corner. As ‘Diggia’ passed him on the straight, the Italian turned to look at the Spaniard—a move that did not sit well with Acosta.
Acosta, ahead of Di Giannantonio, at Le Mans.
The ‘Shark of Mazarrón’ lamented the lower tire degradation of the Aprilias toward the end of the race. “The start was very good, and the first laps were decent. It’s a shame that we started to see the tires decline again from lap 10, with 17 laps still to go. But considering the situation, I think we had a good weekend—one of the best we’ve had here, so I’m happy,” he said calmly.
The two-time champion was satisfied with fifth place. “That was the maximum we could achieve. Maybe I could have snatched fourth from Di Giannantonio, but I thought he was closer, so I defended a bit too much and ended up going wide. Clearly, we weren’t in a position to fight for the podium compared to the three Aprilias. They set a frightening pace, especially Martín and Ogura coming from behind. We have to be realistic about where we stand. Still, I’m happy because this was one of the best weekends I’ve had at Le Mans overall—usually I don’t finish one of the two races, and this time I got fourth and fifth. I’m also glad we’ve maintained consistency, something we lacked last year,” he added.
Jorge Martín took the victory at Le Mans, while Álex Márquez crashed out.
Acosta believes that, unlike in 2025, the RS-GP tires are holding up better now. “The problem is that Aprilia seems to have found something to keep the bike stable throughout the race. That makes our tire drop-off look bigger than it actually is. So it’s not as bad as it seems,” he commented.
Impressed by Aprilia
Pedro was impressed by Aprilia’s strong performance. “When Pecco overtook me, he put in two very fast laps, but that woke me up. I was recovering ground well, then Martín came and it was a similar story: hold on for two or three laps, then they kept their pace while I fell back a bit. And Ogura’s move was ridiculous—how he passed me, how he pulled away, especially in turn 6. The speed he carried there was inhuman. But we have to be happy because it seems we’re getting 100% out of our package. That’s the reality. We’ll keep pushing,” he said.
Brad Binder and Acosta at Le Mans.
Criticism of Di Giannantonio
The KTM rider did not hold back his criticism of Di Giannantonio’s post-overtake gesture. “I was a bit too defensive, thinking he was closer than he was. I’ll remember that for next time. Nobody overtakes me while staring at me,” he snapped.
When asked if this affects his morale, he was blunt. “We’ll see in the next race,” he warned.