MotoGP Austrian GP: Live commentary and updates from Misano

Acosta takes the lead! A surprise move: not under braking but on the way out of Turn 1. That was a low-risk move that capitalised on the sector 1 dominance Acosta has shown all weekend. Behind that, Marquez has taken fourth from Ogura. 

Acosta is within striking distance of Martin - and nearly slips past him through the treacherous Turn 4! He chose not to force the issue there. 

It's looking bleak for Ducati. Marc Marquez is still in fifth and yet to show threatening pace. And Bagnaia is dropping back - both Binder and Aldeguer have passed him to relegate him to eighth.

There is over a second between the Martin/Acosta fight and Bezzecchi now.

The race is now vaguely settled, with Martin leading Acosta (fastest lap again on lap 4), Bezzecchi, Ogura, Marc M, Bagnaia, Brad Binder and Fermin Aldegeuer. Alex Marquez's pre-race pessimism looks justified : he's down in14th despite starting on the second row. 

Acosta set fastest lap last time around. And yep...he's through on Bezzecchi at Turn 2A - the same corner where he fell  yesterday. He has a half-second fap to close to Martin now. 

Acosta absolutely gobbled up the gap to Bezzecchi ahead of him on this lap. And Martin's getting a little gap at the front...

Acosta has now dispatched Ogura as well! He has only the two factory Aprilias ahead of him. 

Bezzecchi has passed Martin for the lead - a clinical move into the first corner.  But Martin grabs the lead straightback at Turn 3. 

Acost ahas moved into fourth ahead of Marquez! Pecco Bagnaia is keeping an eye on his team-mate from sixth...

Ai Ogura has claimed third ahead of Marc Marquez, with a slowish-starting Acosta down to fifth. 

What about tyres, I hear you demand? Everyone who matters will be on the medium rear rubber. There's no real choice from an endurance perspective, especially with this being the warmest day of the weekend so far: it's 22 degrees in this part of Steiermark. But the medium is a challenging compound to ride around here, and it could also shake up the pecking order compared to yesterday, when the big dogs all used the soft rear.

The Austrian national anthem has now come and gone. MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta is wearing Lederhosen shorts. If that was an effort to blend in, it didn't work.... 

While this race is shaping up as a three-way battle between the men on the front row, there is some chance that Marco Bezzecchi has taken the step he needed in order to get into the mix from row two. The Italian topped the times in this morning's warmup. 

If you haven't heard, there are question marks around Martin's fitness after he encountered the dreaded arm pump at Misano last Sunday. It didn't affect him in the sprint yesterday, but this race is twice as long...

Despite all the hype and promise, Acosta will not start from pole. Points leader Jorge Martin has that honour, with MotoGP benchmark Marc Marquez second as Acosta completes the front row. The gap between them in qualifying was so small it is barely worth mentioning. Here's the grid in full:

Grid

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Time	km/h
1	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	1'27.917	178.040
2	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93		Ducati	+0.015 1'27.932	178.010
3	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	+0.071 1'27.988	177.896
4	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72		Aprilia	+0.249 1'28.166	177.537
5	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	+0.533 1'28.450	176.967
6	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	+0.556 1'28.473	176.921
7	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	+0.610 1'28.527	176.813
8	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	+0.695 1'28.612	176.644
9	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	+0.706 1'28.623	176.622
10	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	+0.715 1'28.632	176.604
11	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	+0.812 1'28.729	176.411
12	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54		Ducati	+0.945 1'28.862	176.147
13	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	+0.954 1'28.871	176.129
14	P. Espargaro Tech 3	44		KTM	+1.055 1'28.972	175.929
15	L. Marini Honda HRC	10		Honda	+1.193 1'29.110	175.657
16	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	+1.237 1'29.154	175.570
17	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23		KTM	+1.248 1'29.165	175.548
18	T. Nakagami Honda HRC	30		Honda	+1.525 1'29.442	175.005
19	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21		Ducati	+1.637 1'29.554	174.786
20	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	+1.746 1'29.663	174.573
21	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43		Yamaha	+1.772 1'29.689	174.523
22	T. Razgatlioglu Pramac Racing	7		Yamaha	+2.139 1'30.056	173.811
View full results

Later in the day, Acosta admitted that he "f****ed it up" by crashing, taking full responsibility for the mistake. This, coupled with this morning's crash, will make it a tense watch this afternoon even if the youngster does get away into a comfortable lead. 

If you missed yesterday's sprint, here's the wrap:

But while Acosta has been fast, he has also been fragile. He threw away a certain win in the sprint yesterday with a late crash. And another fall in this morning's warm-up will have done nothing to help calm any nerves as he carries the hopes of both a nation and a factory!

Here's what KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa reckons about Acosta's chances: 

"We don't know how he is feeling inside after two crashes in a row. He will be a bit nervous. But hopefully he can leave that behind after a few laps. I hope he can handle the pressure like the great rider that he is."

We've just received the official Sunday attendance figure: 46000 people have made their way to the hillside circuit in Spielberg. And most of them are cheering for one man only: Pedro Acosta. The Spaniard qualifies as a home favourite because he's leading the charge by Austrian manufacturer KTM. Both are long overdue a grand prix victory - and Acosta has shown sparkling speed this weekend. 

Good afternoon from Austria - it's time for one of the most eagerly anticipated MotoGP races in recent living memory. Welcome to our live text coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix. I'm Richard Asher and I'll be taking you through the action.