KTM drama at Italian MotoGP: Acosta and Binder crash out in Sprint Race first lap

KTM’s ambitions at the Italian MotoGP ended in disappointment — both riders crashed out during the first lap of the Sprint Race.

Pedro Acosta went down at the final corner despite being confident with his hard front tire choice. “I started well and tried to be careful at the first corner, but I got pushed wide and lost the front end,” he explained.

Brad Binder suffered the same fate when his bike went down at turn one. “Race was very short — I got a small nudge from the inside that was enough to fold the front,” he stated.

“I really thought today our potential was to fight with Pecco,” said Acosta about his pre-race expectations.

The KTM machines showed weakness in certain areas — particularly in long corner accelerations like Turns 7, 8, 11, and 12. The understeer and chatter issues Binder experienced during qualifying added to the team’s challenges.