Fermín Aldeguer to Inherit Marc Márquez's Ducati in 2025

Even before the season began, Fermín Aldeguer had already signed a multi-year contract with Ducati. The Bologna-based brand wanted to secure the new gem of Spanish motorcycling. A 19-year-old rider (one year younger than his fellow countryman Pedro Acosta) who, in his second full year in the Moto2 World Championship, had managed to win five races, the last four consecutively and solo, to finish third in the final championship standings.

With his future settled from the start of the year, all that remained was to find him a spot in one of Ducati's satellite structures, which turned out to be more challenging than expected. The seismic shift caused by Marc Márquez's signing with the official team and its subsequent aftershocks disrupted the status quo of the Italian brand. Initially, Aldeguer's destination was set to be Pramac Racing, Ducati's 'B' team. However, Jorge Martín's departure to Aprilia and some disagreements with the parent company led Pramac to break its alliance and become Yamaha's future satellite team in 2025.

Overnight, Ducati lost two bikes for the upcoming season but needed a spot for Aldeguer, who already had a signed contract. Attempts were made to place him in Valentino Rossi's structure, which will inherit the role of Ducati's support team. However, they had already committed to two Italian riders (Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli), so all roads led to Faenza, home of Gresini Racing, where he will replace Marc Márquez and be teammate to his brother Álex.

Aldeguer started as the rider to beat in the intermediate category at the beginning of the season. Another year of experience in the World Championship, combined with his brilliant end to 2023 and having his MotoGP spot secured, seemed like a winning combination. However, the rider from La Ñora (Murcia) has encountered more obstacles than he anticipated.

Moto2 switched tire suppliers this year from Dunlop to Pirelli, and Aldeguer has struggled to adapt to the Italian tires. Additionally, as confirmed by the rider himself during the first Grand Prix events of the season, he hasn't managed to handle the pressure of being the title favorite well and has been overwhelmed at times.

With just under half of the championship remaining, Aldeguer is still in contention for the title. He is currently fifth overall, 50 points behind category leader Sergio García, another rider who was strongly considered for a MotoGP promotion but will ultimately stay another season in Moto2. What he hasn't forgotten is how to win; with two victories (Jerez and Sachsenring), Aldeguer has as many wins as García but is penalized by his inconsistency.

With Aldeguer's promotion, Spain will maintain its numerical dominance in MotoGP's premier class with a total of eight riders out of 22 on the grid in 2025. However, this will be one less than in 2024 since Aleix Espargaró will retire at the end of this year and Augusto Fernández will transition from official KTM rider to Honda test rider.