Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta has clinched the 2023 Moto2 world championship two rounds before the end of the current season to extend his phenomenal march through the MotoGP™ pyramid. The 19-year-old Spaniard now has two world titles in different categories after just three years in Grand Prix racing.
Having decimated the 2020 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Acosta made an emphatic leap to Moto3™ as part of the KTM GP Academy in 2021; winning his debut Grand Prix in Qatar and then accumulating five further triumphs and seven more podiums to rule the division at the first attempt.
He moved to Moto2 for 2022 and took just eight rounds to ace the first of three GPs that term. Acosta suffered a leg break but recovered to finish 5th in the championship as Rookie of the Year. Another season older and wiser, Acosta racked-up seven successes in 2023 (a total of 16 trophies in less than two years) to arrive within touching distance of his second title and achieved the distinction with the runner-up slot at the Sepang International Circuit and round eighteen of twenty (his 14th podium of the season).
Acosta is already confirmed for a MotoGP saddle in 2024 and no other rider has reached the premier class so quickly with so much success. He will be one of just two racers on the ’24 grid to have captured championships both in Moto3 and Moto2. #37 has competed in just over 50 Grands Prix. He has almost a 50% podium record (now 26 pieces of silverware) and 16 wins to his credit.
Aki Ajo’s Moto2 structure have helped two of the current Pierer Mobility Group MotoGP racers to Grand Prix victory and will add a third with Acosta’s 2024 promotion. They have also assisted four more presently active riders in MotoGP to the same status. The team has been lauded as Moto2 world champions in 2021, 2022 and now 2023. They are in a strong position for their third consecutive Moto2 Teams Championship.
Pedro Acosta, 2023 Moto2 World Champion: “It is nice to be in the list of champions and some amazing names. Last year I made a lot of mistakes, a lot of crashes. This is my third year with Aki and working with him and we decided to start from zero and put all the mistakes in one box. We tried to find the right setting with the bike last year but I was also too small and light for Moto2 so we made a big step in the winter and we improved in general, with the head as well and my experience. I knew what to do. We made more steps. The weekends were not easy and it was tough to recover ground sometimes but we made progress. The target was to be competitive and that was it.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Ajo Team Principal: “Thanks Pedro! It has been impressive three years to work with him and a guy who surprises us every day with his matureness and cleverness. The most enjoyable thing is not only winning the two titles together but maybe more the feeling what we've created together with Pedro, his family and the whole team. I also really want to thank the guys for all their big effort and support all the way through 2023. Our partners have also contributed so much and the relationship with Pierer Mobility management and Red Bull is as close as ever. We’re happy to be a successful part of the KTM GP Academy and Pedro should have a brilliant future in MotoGP. It will be fascinating to see how he will do next season and in the future.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “A big congratulations both to Pedro and also Aki for the high standards that never drop. When we think of some of the racers that have come through the Red Bull KTM Ajo team then it makes us very proud and privileged to have this strong relationship. As for Pedro, what more can we say about this special talent? It says a lot that we believe he can move to the MotoGP class at 19, and his record through Moto3 and Moto2 means he might be a once in a generation star. His second Moto2 season has been very impressive and it’s unbelievable that he has outgrown the class already. It’s really exciting to see what he can do in the coming years and where Aki and his loyal guys can work with their next project.”