Acosta seeks turnaround after 14th in Qatar pre-qualifying

Pedro Acosta will have to clear the Q1 stage on Saturday after finishing 14th in pre-qualifying, ahead of Maverick Viñales. Binder and Bastianini are in the top ten, so the KTM rider needs to improve. He said his bike stopped because of an electrical problem, adding that it is not normal for him to be slower on a new soft tyre than on a used medium.

Acosta said he remains confident, noting it is only the start of the weekend. "Tomorrow we'll try to turn things around, because it can't get any worse than today," he said. He added that his pace on the medium tyre was not bad, and that the team needs to understand what happened with the medium tyre, as he had more grip with a used medium than with a new soft for the time attack.

Acosta described the track as dusty, as is typical on Fridays in Qatar, but said overall it was pretty good. He admitted he had expected a tough weekend, though it proved tougher than he anticipated.