Pedro Acosta; Future Legend

If you’ve won a motorcycle race at Grand Prix level, you’ve got something special. If you’ve won a world title, well that’s something seriously special. But every now and then, someone young upstart comes along that seems to have something else. Something extra special. These child prodigies have, in the past, had names like Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. And they’ve gone from being child prodigies, to legends of the sport. And I think, in 17-year-old Spaniard and Moto3 rookie Pedro Acosta, we’ve got another one on our hands.

Before the opening round of the 2021 season, I’d never heard the name Pedro Acosta. That’s despite considering myself a keen bike racing fan. And when he started the first race of the season from pit-lane, I didn’t take a massive amount of notice. What was he going to do from there? Well the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider only put it on the podium, didn’t he? That’s all he did from there. It was an unbelievable performance.

When he won a week later and took the championship lead, I’d well and truly learnt his name. But it wasn’t until he’d won the next two rounds (Portimão, Jerez) that I really started to take notice.

And not just because of his results. Yes, they’re massively impressive, but getting a good result in Moto3 is a bit of a lottery; you need a bit of luck on your side. I know you make your own luck, to some extent, but he could quite easily have been wiped out through no fault of his own; and he hasn’t.

No, I’m more impressed by the way he rides the bike ‘with his head’. As well as being on of the fastest lads on the grid, he always seems to know where to put the bike to maximise his chances of winning races. In a Moto3 race, that’s not always at the front; the rider leading the race onto the start/finish straight is rarely the one leading at the end of it. You’ve got aerodynamics and the slipstream effect to thank for that.

At the time of writing, Acosta’s won four out of eight Moto3 races. That’s no fluke. It’s not lucky. He’s earnt the wins and he’s won fair and square. And judging by his performance at the last round in Germany, he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

So here’s my prediction, written in June 2021. I think in a year’s time, Pedro Acosta will be a Moto3 World Champion. I think in a few more years’ time, he’ll be a Moto2 World Champion. And I know it’s early days, but I think one day he’ll be a MotoGP World Champion too.

In fact I think he’ll be more than a MotoGP Champion. I think one day he’ll be a MotoGP legend. I’m convinced he’s got what it takes to get the top and stay there. Look out MM93, Pedro Acosta’s coming for you.

Boothy