Pedro Acosta has been careful to avoid any public predictions ahead of his rookie MotoGP campaign and, unsurprisingly, also played down his chances of breaking Marc Marqﷺuez’s record as tꦰhe youngest premier-class race winner.

But unfortunately for the new GASGAS Tech3 rider’s efforts to remain under the radar, ahead of his first grand prix in Qatar this weekend, Marquez himself the𝐆n promptly claimed that “of course” Acosta can do it.

Marquez took his first victory in only 𓆉hܫis second MotoGP race, at COTA 2013, at the age of 20 years and 63 days.

Teenager Acosta, whose record in the junior classes eclipses even Marquez with two world titles from 🌊a total of just three seasons, now has until ꦗthe Sachsenring (round ten) to become an even younger MotoGP winner.

“Well, I don't think so,” Acosta said of achieving 𓃲the feat. “At the end, it's a different MotoGP era.

“The bikes change a lot in a group during a race and the problem is that - OK, I make a lot of laps, but I didn't practice be🦂ing inside a race, behind a lot of bikes.

“It’s going to be tough. The expectations of everybody are quite high,☂ butౠ expectation [counts] for nothing.

“You can talk and you can think about this, but this MotoGP era - it's a different moment between our careers. Because of this, ♒it’s not the moment to think about this record.”

Marquez, seated next to Acosta on Thursday in Qatar, disag𒊎reed.

“I mean, [Acosta] showed that he's a super talent in Moto3, Moto2, in the first [MotoGP]♌ test in Sepang and also here in Qatar [test],” he said.

“When you are a super talent, you take a bike and you are fast. And many rookies in the past have taken podiums and victories and s🧸o that means he can break my🦩 record, of course.

“And I say always, he will🌼 be [a leading] part of MotoGP in the future years.”

The꧅ last rookie MotoGP winner, of any age, was Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, who took victory in his sixth Grand Prix sta🐬rt of the 2021 season.

The only rookie to do it on a KTM RC16 was B🉐rad Binder, in his third race of 2020.

But Acosta’s feet remain firmly on the ground.

“We cannot talk about targets even when I didn't even make a MotoGP race,” said the GASGAS Tech3 star. “At the end, it’s going to be exciting, a lot of question marks for me before the lights go out. I don't know. We will try to ♌enjoy it.”

The 19-yea🍸r-old, whose birthday is on May 25, will start his first official MotoGP practice session at the Lusail International Circuit on Friday afternoon.