One of the Japanese riders who left a mark in the history of MotoGP was Nobuatsu Aoki, who achieved several outstanding results in various categories between the 1990s and the early 2000s, including podiums in the former 500cc.
Currently, he remains attentive to MotoGP, and the talent of rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) – who makes his debut this year – does not escape him: ‘It will be a very interesting season because Pedro Acosta is quite talented, and the way he brakes is incredible. Since he was competing in Moto3, he completely changed the way of riding the bike, how he leaned into corners, covering fewer meters than other riders. That’s the magic that Pedro Acosta has; it’s impressive, he does things that not even Marc Márquez is capable of doing’, he told Motosan.es.
Ducati starts as the apparent favorite, but Aoki believes that KTM could be a tough nut to crack for the Italians: ‘Since Dani Pedrosa joined KTM, the results have been coming. I’ve seen the bike, and it might be the best bike they’ve ever had. You can hear the engine and the change in noise; it’s smooth. I’ve seen that KTM has taken a step forward’.