Somehow it just had to happen this way.

Pedro Acosta is the present and the future of MotoGP. Phenomenally fast and a brilliant character; if Liberty Media could magic up a rider to capture the imagination of new fans then they would look a lot like Pedro.

He has everything other than the quickest bike and a MotoGP Race victory.

In Austria he ticked off the latter and there’s a good chance he’ll sort out the bike bit next season when he joins Marc Marquez in the factory Ducati team.

Tantalizing as that prospect is, looking ahead to 2027 would do a disservice to KTM and the work the team has done over the past few seasons in difficult financial circumstances. For all Acosta wanted to get the ‘first win’ monkey off his back, you suspect that he was equally determined to make sure he got at least one with the Austrian brand before swapping orange for red.

That meant securing his first victory in KTM’s back yard, with the higher ranks from new majority owner Bajaj Auto in the garage; a storybook finish if ever there was one.

It also meant that his huge mistake in the Sprint Race can now be seen as merely adding to the drama. It seemed so inexplicable that Acosta had thrown away that Sprint race win, and so typically Pedro that he bluntly admitted that he “fucked it up” after the race, explaining that he had been distracted by his dashboard and missed his breaking marker.

Following that up by smashing his bike to bits in Sunday morning warm-up was perhaps one dramatic twist too many, but he can be forgiven for the lot.

The record books will show that Pedro Acosta claimed his first MotoGP race win at the Austrian GP with KTM.

The memories of everyone watching – at the track and on TV – will be of him crossing the line and then recreating his crash to celebrate. There will be many a video montage made of Acosta’s race and championship wins over the years ahead and this celebration is likely to be included in every one.

Whether he – or more accurately KTM – can repeat this feat at any of the remaining rounds remains to be seen. Aprilia and Ducati clearly still have the better bike, although the KTM performs better with the harder casing Michelin tyre used at the Red Bull Ring and that will also be used in two rounds’ time at Mandalika, so that may be their best chance.

In any case, Pedro Acosta is finally a MotoGP race winner. He did it his way and he did it on a KTM.

Other Things of Note

Better for Binder. It wasn’t a win, like his epic victory at this track in 2021, but sixth-place for KTM’s Brad Binder must have felt pretty good. The harder rear tyre Michelin brought to this race was more to the South African’s liking and he gave everyone a reminder of his class before heading on to World Superbikes next season.

Aprilia Next Best. Aprilia will also be happy with second, third and fourth. Jorge Martin re-took the championship lead, by 12 points, thanks to his second place, whilst Bezzecchi got a much-needed solid podium after his first lap crash in Misano last weekend, and Ai Ogura marked his return from injury with a typically patient approach.

Good Points for Marc. A second in the Sprint Race and fifth in the main race represents a decent return from the weekend for Marc Marquez. The Ducati didn’t have the expected pace and it looked like things could go south in the Main Race, when he had some rear-tyre slides and slipped behind Binder and Fermin Aldeguer into seventh, but Marquez regrouped and got the best points he could.

Well Done Taka! Give some credit to Taka Nakagami who picked up a 13th-placed finish whilst subbing for the ill Joan Mir on the Honda. Full-time riders Luca Marini (14th) and Diogo Moreira (15th) will be disappointed to have trailed behind him though.

No so Well Done Liberty Media. Hopefully those video game-style name graphics that they debuted this weekend will quicky go in the ‘not again’ bin. Not only were they distracting but you couldn’t read them very well half of the time anyway.