18th and 1.2s from the top at last November’s Valencia MotoGP test was a solid debut performance by star rookie Pꦑedro Acosta.

But MotoGP’s most eagerly anticipated newcomer since Marc Marquez stepped up a gear at the Sepang Shaked𝕴own.

Acosta ꧋was fast over all three days,🐼 saving his best for last by finishing top of the timesheets.

Sure, Acosta was competing against test riders and only six full-time racers,🌳 from Yamaha and Hon🎃da, thanks to the new concessions.

But the test riders on the same KTM bike included 31-time MotoGP winner Dani Pedrosa, who fought for podiums as a wild-car𒅌d last season, and ten-year premier-class veteran Pol Espargaro.

The race riders also included two former MotoGP champions i🌳n Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir, plus race winneꦇrs Alex Rins and Johann Zarco.

Acosta’s best time of 1m 58.189s was under the official Sepang race lap 💫record and just over half-a-second from the 🐎all-time pole record.

The final day wasn’t without incident for the Spanish teenager, who suffered his first MotoGP fall at lunchtime, then a second sꦇpill while completing his first wet MotoGP laps in ♎the final hour, after a thunderstorm had drenched the circuit.

But his performance, plus the pace of all the KTM riders on the latest RC16, certainly turned heads. The big question now is how Aco🔴sta (and KTM) will measure up against the full MotoGP field at the same track during the official test from February 6-8.

"We spent these three days mainly trying to work on my riding style, trying to understand the tyres in MotoGP, find a bike set up, and we have to be happy 🎉with this first test,” Acosta said.

“We did some good fast laps, but we most importantly had a good race pace on th♐e dry. We even got a bit of time in the wet, which is always a bonus.

“I tried to follow Dani 🗹Pedrosa a bit today, and it was no🔯t that easy!

“In the Sepang Test, we will try to follow the line🐽s of the other riders, because I was struggling a bit in Turns 5 and 6, and understand everything a bit more.

“Very happy, now I am going to enjoy two days of re𒐪st!"