Running for 17 years already, the Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup has established itself as the benchmark route to access the prestigious MotoGP™ championships. Pedro Acosta, the young Spaniard making waves in his debut season racing in the premier class with Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, appreciates that his time at the Rookies Cup was vital in progressing successfully to the Grand Prix level.
As the Austrian MotoGP 2024 approaches, Pedro Acosta looks back to his time in the feeder series: the early career highlights and challenges.
– “I have great memories; I had a great time. It is an important moment at the beginning of your sporting career and being very young, you are not used to the stress, the pressure, and the fact that you must win no matter what, to achieve your goal. As a base it is perfect as it prepares you for what is to come, the World Championships.”
– Having the chance to be part of Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup was pivotal in taking Pedro Acosta’s career to the next level. “It helped me 100%. At home, we needed that scholarship to be able to leap the World Cup and that’s how it happened. My family, my friends, and my manager helped me, but without Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, the road would have been much more complicated and, why not say it, less pleasant. Also, there you feel what the competition is really like, the nerves, and what is at stake”, shares Acosta.
– In 2023, the Spaniard completed his second season in the Moto2 category with Red Bull KTM Ajo. After seven victories and 14 podiums in the intermediate category, Acosta was crowned Moto2 World Champion two races before the end of the season, thus prolonging his phenomenal journey to MotoGP™.
– “This is my 4th year at the World Championship level, and I have already experienced a lot in a very short time. The Red Bull Rookies Cup helps you prepare for your start, but after that, you must be the one who pushes, demands, and chooses who to surround yourself with to help achieve your goal”, says Acosta.
– Pedro Acosta’s first experience of motorbikes came at the age of just five, when his father bought a motocross bike – and Pedro hasn’t looked back since. Having begun racing bikes at a young age, Pedro worked his way up through the classes, winning in Minibikes, MiniGP, MaxxiGP and PreMoto3before entering the Moto3™ Junior World Championship at the age of 14.
-The true passion for the sport has led Acosta to have such a successful career at a young age. “I consider myself to be passionate about the world of motorcycling and that shows in my day-to-day life as well as in my results. I like to be around motorbikes, touching them, feeling them, interacting with them, etc. I love it. If you add to this very strict training discipline and perseverance, the result is what you are seeing.”
– As the ‘Born Racers’ documentary series captures the real-life trials that racing hopefuls must go through: pressure, doubts, friendships and rivalries. These are things Acosta has also experienced. “I don’t usually have too many friends in the paddock but it’s true that from the Red Bull Rookies Cup, I’ve taken more friends than rivals and that’s really nice. Let’s not forget that you arrived there very young, and you don’t have that awareness of rivalry, you see it more as an opportunity for yourself, but it is also there where you learn that to get to the World Championship you must beat the rest.”
– When asked what advice Pedro Acosta would give to his younger self, coming into the first testing of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, he says: “I would tell him to be calm, to go out on the track to do what he likes the most, and to do it the way he really knows how. He should enjoy the moment and the opportunity and not get distracted by other things, because while the effort is a lot, the reward is better.”
The six-part documentary series ‘Born Racers’ follows motorcycling’s young talents as they try to prove their spot in Grand Prix racing in the Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup feeder series. The series will premiere across Europe, the UK and the USA on the following viewing platforms:
Austria – Canal+ – 01.07.24
Austria – ServusTV On – 10.08.24
Belgium – Canal+ – 08.08.24
Czech Republic – Canal+ – 01.08.24
France – Canal+ – 09.05.24
Germany – ServusTV On, Red Bull TV – 12.08.24
Netherlands – Canal+ – 08.08.24
Switzerland – Canal+ – 01.07.24
Slovakia – Canal+ – 01.08.24
Spain – DAZN – 04.09.24
UK – TNT Sports – 27.06.24
UK – Discovery+ – 18.07.24
UK – DMAX – Q4, 2024
US – TruTV – 28.06.24
US – Max – 18.07.24
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