Pedro Acosta was forced to retire from the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix on lap 13 due to carpal tunnel syndrome, and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider will undergo wrist surgery on Tuesday. Starting from eighth place in Assen, Acosta battled for the top five with Marc Marquez's Ducati for much of the race; however, he slowed down at the entrance to Turn 1 on lap 13 of the 26-lap race and was forced to retire to the pit lane.<\/p>\n
TV footage showed Acosta violently shaking his right hand while visibly in pain. Initially thought to be a mechanical issue, Acosta later revealed he had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition, caused by compression of the median nerve passing through a narrow passage in the palm, resulted in Acosta losing feeling in his right wrist throughout the race, and consequently being unable to control his right arm on the motorcycle.<\/p>\n
Acosta explained the seriousness of the situation in a post-race statement: \u201cIt\u2019s worse on some tracks and better on others. In yesterday\u2019s race, I was having trouble from lap 3 onwards, but I more or less knew where the lever was. Today, however, while behind Marc, I couldn\u2019t even tell if I was touching the lever at times; I had to release the brake to avoid a collision. We will have surgery on Tuesday to fix this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acosta stated that the problem actually dates back to 2025 and that this was precisely why he swerved wide at Turn 1 of Motegi during last year's Japanese GP. Initially, the surgery was planned for the summer break, after the Sachsenring race; however, the Assen weekend changed this schedule. The surgery has now been moved to a window before the German GP on July 5th.<\/p>\n
\u201c"If you remember going wide at Turn 1 in Motegi last year, my arm slipped from my finger at that exact moment because I couldn't feel anything," said Acosta, describing today's incident as the most serious of his career. When asked by reporters whether he would be able to compete in the German GP, he replied, "If everything goes well, there won't be a problem.".<\/p>\n
Acosta managed to collect only 1 point in total during the Assen weekend. Two separate sensor-related technical problems on Saturday morning severely hampered his training and forced him to start from 8th place. Evaluating the weekend, Acosta said, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing positive. The technical problems we had on Saturday and then the handball issue\u2026 It\u2019s best to forget about this weekend.\u201d.<\/p>\n