British Superbikes legend Neil Hodgson thinks Pedro Acosta’s brilliance has knocked the stuffing out of team-mate Brad Binder.
Acosta, 20, has been a revelation since he was promoted to MotoGP by KTM for the 2024 campaign. His future has already been secured courtesy of a stunning mid-season promotion to a factory MotoGP seat for 2025.
Now he has his eyes on a potential podium finish in his debut campaign as he sits fifth in the championship standings, only 35 points away from Marc Marquez of Ducati in third. But while Acosta will be revelling in the excitement of his stunning debut season, Binder is lagging behind his much younger team-mate.
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When asked how Binder would be feeling in an exclusive interview with Daily Star Sport, Hodgson, who is a pundit for TNT Sport’s coverage of MotoGP, said: “Yeah, it’s always tough when that happens, because he was the main man.
“What happens is that it really affects your own confidence, because you feel like you’re getting the most out of the package and then a young kid comes along and is instantly doing better than you.
“The first thing you do is start to change your bike, because you want to blame the bike, so you try and change your set-up to give you a certain bit of feeling or feedback. But you can easily end up getting lost.
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(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“I think that’s what Brad Binder is doing at the moment. I know he’s been making some big changes to his bike, he’s been crashing more than normal. But in reality, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and go, ‘Fair enough. I’m a decent rider, but maybe I’m not quite at the level of this kid’, which he obviously isn’t.
“But Pedro Acosta is a generational talent who arrives once every 15 years. But it’s almost like no rider will ever admit that they haven’t quite got what it takes, or they’re not quite as good as another rider.
“You always look inward and you try to find the reasons why someone is better than you and you try to improve your skills. Psychologically, Brad Binder’s head is in bits at the moment, which I understand, though that’s the reality of racing.”
(Image: TNT Sport)
Both Binder and Acosta will be back in the saddle for this weekend’s TT Assen, after a 28 day mid-season break. Acosta outperformed his South African colleague at the Italian GP at the start of June.
He recorded a third placed finish in the Tissot Sprint before finishing the Grand Prix in fifth position, while Binder recorded sixth and tenth placed finishes respectively. Binder is under contract with KTM until 2025.
The South African enjoyed an impressive campaign last year, only just missing out on a podium place to finish fourth. But his performances this year have left plenty to be desired so far.
Watch every moment of practice, qualifying and race action from the Assen MotoGP exclusively live on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+ this weekend, find out more here