Fermin Aldeguer showed his potential in Austin with many overtaking maneuvers and was on course for sixth place until his crash. He also set the second-fastest race lap behind Marc Marquez.
After two difficult race weekends, MotoGP rookie Fermin Aldeguer made his mark in the top field for the first time at the Circuit of The Americas in the USA. On Friday, he secured his first Q2 place with the fifth-best training time. In qualifying, he then secured twelfth place on the grid.
In the sprint, Aldeguer did not collect any championship points in eleventh place, but for the first time he fought in a larger group with riders like Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) and Brad Binder (KTM). In the Grand Prix, the 19-year-old again dueled with some experienced riders.
Initially, Aldeguer was in the range of places eight and nine. Finally, he prevailed in a tough duel against veteran Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda) and advanced to sixth place.
His chase continued, as Aldeguer quickly caught up with Jack Miller’s Pramac-Yamaha. But there was no happy ending. On the third-last lap, Aldeguer crashed at Turn 15 and was not rewarded with his first top result.
Nevertheless, Ducati’s Head of Motorsport Gigi Dall’Igna praised his performance: “An excellent Aldeguer, who almost crowned a great comeback – he showed what he is capable of: Welcome [to MotoGP]!”
Aldeguer has taken over from Marc Marquez’s team-mate Marc Marquez in the Ducati satellite team. As a rookie, he has a very good environment in which to learn. His performance in Austin was the first highlight in his still young MotoGP career.
Second-fastest race lap behind Marc Marquez
“We can be satisfied with the race and the whole weekend,” says the young Spaniard. “We have improved a lot, we are working in the right direction – Austin is not an easy track.”
“We were fighting for the top positions. My goal is always to finish in the top 10, but this time we had the speed and pace for a place in the top 5.” The numbers also back this up.
Aldeguer set the second-fastest lap of the race in the session before his crash. Only Marc Marquez’s best lap was one and a half tenths of a second faster. Aldeguer’s time was also 0.167 seconds faster than race winner Francesco Bagnaia’s best lap.
“Yes, I know,” beams Aldeguer. “But we have to improve the negative aspects – qualifying and also the first part of the race. Because we always work towards the end of the race. But I think we can improve further if we take this next step.”
“I learned a lot. From halfway through the race, I was able to manage the grip well, I understood when not to go over the limit, and I had better control over the braking points. I overtook and was able to stay in front after the maneuver.“
”That’s good for the pressure in the front tire. I controlled that well and, with the laps, I understood the bike better and used the electronics better.” Just one small mistake had the serious consequence that Aldeguer could not take a top result with him.
He attributes the crash to “a little too much self-confidence”: “In turn 15, I lost control of the front tire due to a bump. We need to analyze this crash. It wasn’t a big mistake, just a small one – but we can still be satisfied.”
After the first three race weekends, Gresini is still in third place in the team standings, thanks largely to championship leader Alex Marquez. However, they are only nine points behind second-placed team VR46. Aldeguer’s retirement was therefore all the more bitter.
