Acosta and Marquez 'looked like donkeys' in strange MotoGP duel
Pedro Acosta has conceded that he and fellow MotoGP racer Marc Marquez were left looking like ‘donkeys’ in Sunday’s Indonesian Grand Prix, after deliberately ceding position to one another.
Acosta had made a slow start from ninth in the race while Marquez launched himself from the second row into initial podium contention - but as the latter dropped back and the former picked his way through the field, they found themselves battling for fourth with clean air in front of them, before Acosta was able to make a move on lap seven of the 27-lap race.
However, finding himself well behind Jorge Martin in third when he did get clear of Marquez and with his front tyre pressure set up for battling through the pack rather than running in clear air, it meant that Acosta soon got a warning light on his dash telling him he needed to find a way to spike the front temperature (and thus the front pressure) again, triggering a cat and mouse game with his 2027 team-mate.
After Acosta rolled out and let Marquez through on lap 13, the pair then traded positions multiple times, with Acosta desperate to try and stay behind - and the reigning world champion, seemingly well-aware of what a 16-second post-race penalty would do to Acosta’s day, in no mood to do Acosta any favours.
The result, beyond just allowing the pursuing Ai Ogura to eventually hunt down and overtake both of them, was a rather farcical situation where both Acosta and Marquez were left slowing down and looking over their shoulders at each other in a scene more reminiscent of something from a cycling velodrome than a MotoGP circuit.
“I mean, we looked like donkeys,” Acosta told The Race afterwards. “I think that he was having the same problems as me, because he let me past also, but I don’t know.”
Marquez confirmed afterwards that his front tyre was fine, and didn't give any specific reason for letting Acosta through beyond a general acceptance the KTM rider was faster than him.
Acosta continued: “When I was behind it was OK, but when I was in front it was like 'fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, not fine, not fine, not fine, fine, fine, fine, not fine, not fine, not fine'.
“Maybe I should have stayed a bit longer behind Marc, but I think that if I was passing him one lap later, it was not going to change anything for this.
“I lost a lot of time with these things and this took away the possibility to be inside the top four.”
The incident is the latest in MotoGP’s ongoing struggles with front tyre pressure issues, triggered by Michelin’s vigorous enforcement of the rules regarding a minimum pressure that riders must adhere to for 60% of the grand prix (and 30% of the sprint) - an issue that may well have serious title implications after Saturday’s sprint race at Mandalika.
There, race (and title) leader Jorge Martin was also forced to sit up and allow Marquez to cruise past him - but, with a bigger gap pulled earlier in the race burning more of his tyres, he was unable to pull the gap back, conceding valuable points as he slid back to fourth at the chequered flag.
