P1racenews AI automatic summary:
‘It was KTM’s issue and KTM solved it’. That was Jack Miller’s assessment of the Austrian factory’s announcement that rookie Pedro Acosta will replace Pol Espargaro in MotoGP next season.
With KTM’s four existing MotoGP riders already under contract for 2024 and Moto2 title leader Acosta eager to join MotoGP, it was clear that someone would lose out. Miller, one of the existing KTM riders, stated that it was KTM’s issue to solve, and he wasn’t worried about it. He believed that it was a nice problem to have more riders than bikes, and ultimately KTM made the decision they felt was right. However, Miller felt that the best solution would have been for Dorna to allow KTM to use one of the ’empty’ Suzuki grid places to run a fifth bike for Acosta in 2024. Despite KTM’s efforts to secure a fifth bike, they were not given the opportunity. Miller pointed out that there are currently 22 bikes on the grid full-time, with one company having pulled out and others not showing a significant interest, so it made sense for a company like KTM, willing to pay everything, to have an extra bike on the grid. As a result of the decision, Pol Espargaro will switch to test and wild-card duties next season, Acosta will ride in GASGAS colors alongside Augusto Fernandez, and Miller will continue in the Red Bull KTM team with Brad Binder.
Source: Crash
