It’s been a whirlwind debut season for rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo wonderkid securing the Moto3™ World Championship crown after taking victory at the Brembo Grand Prix of the Algarve. It’s certainly been an impressive start to life on the Grand Prix circuit for the Spaniard, and these are some of the stats which have caught the eye over the past year.
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Acosta’s maiden Moto3™ win came at the Doha GP, when he went from pitlane to P1 in sensational fashion. In total, he has taken five victories to date, with further top step success in the Portuguese, Spanish, German, Styrian and Algarve GPs.
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He has two further podiums to his name, taking P2 on his debut race at the Qatar GP while he stood third on the rostrum at the Emilia Romagna GP.
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Despite plenty of rostrum joy, he has only launched from the front row once, taking P2 on the grid at the Italian GP.
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He made his FIM CEV Repsol Championship debut at just 13-years of age back in 2018. In 2020, he finished third in the Championship.
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Acosta spent two seasons in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, contending for the title in both years. In 2019 he finished runner up Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) before going one better the following year, claiming six consecutive victories on his way to a resounding title victory.
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He is the first-ever rider to take four podiums, three wins and a second place, in his first four races on the Championship circuit.
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At the Spanish GP, Acosta won for the third time on what was only his fourth race in Moto3™. Aged 16 years and 342 days old, he becomes the youngest rider ever to take three successive GP wins, taking the record of Marco Melandri (17 years and 29 days old).
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The 17-year-old from Murcia is the sixth Spanish rider to take the Moto3™ title since the introduction of the class in 2012, while he is the 15th to clinch lightweight class glory. He is Spain 55th Grand Prix Champion.
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The Red Bull KTM Ajo becomes the first rookie to become Champion in the lightweight class category since Loris Capirossi in 1990.
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At 17 years and 166 days old, he is the second youngest Grand Prix Champion, one day older than Capirossi.
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This is the fifth time a KTM rider has taken the Moto3™ World Championship. Acosta follows in the footsteps of Santiago Cortese (2012), Maverick Viñales (2013), Brad Binder (2016) and Albert Arenas (2020).
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The rookie is the second successive rider to claim the Moto3™ title despite not claiming a single pole position all season. Albert Arenas also failed to do so in 2020.
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In Styria, Acosta won for the fifth time in his rookie season in Moto3™, becoming the first rookie to take five wins in 125cc/Moto3™ since Alex Criville in 1989, who went on to take the title.
Congratulations on your well-deserved success Pedro.