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The weekend in Portimão started differently than usual for Fermin Aldeguer, who was called to attend the MotoGP riders' press conference after announcing his arrival in the Premier Class with Ducati in 2025. A promotion that the current SpeedUp team rider strongly desired. At the end of last year, he had stopped just short of moving up a category.
"I'm very happy to have announced that I'm entering the MotoGP in 2025. But now I have to stay focused on the Moto2. I felt the pressure in Qatar, because everyone says I'm the favorite. I feel like one, but I have to handle this pressure well. Now that the announcement has been made, my season will start from here in Portimão with very positive feelings. I'm very happy to enter the MotoGP with Ducati," Fermin commented, clarifying the timing of the announcement: "I signed the contract two months ago, but we wanted to wait a little longer before making the announcement. I said to myself, "sooner or later", let's do it now so that I can then fully focus on the Moto2 and racing, rather than on the future."
More than the MotoGP, Aldeguer's current priority is to pursue the intermediate class title.
"Now that the contract is signed, I want to think race by race and enjoy the moment," he said. "I think I could have a very good season in the Moto2 and fight for the title. At the moment, I don't want to think about the MotoGP, but I want to come here with the same mentality I had at the end of last year, to try to improve with each race, and gather more experience and information."
The Spanish rider is ready to turn the page after problems with the Pirelli tires, which prevented him from leaving a mark on the Qatar GP, even if he still doesn't know what caused the excessive wear during the race.
"We haven't done many laps with these new tires, and it's important to do as many laps as possible to gather some information. We don't know what happened in the Grand Prix, because I felt very good on Friday and Saturday, while my front tire was destroyed at the end of the race on Sunday," he explained. "We'll have to see here if it was due to the bike set-up or my riding style. At the moment, we don't know, because I never had this problem in any of the pre-season tests. We have to wait to gather more information."
Sitting next to Pedro Acosta during the press conference, Fermin finally commented on the fact that, by moving up a category, he'll be able to meet up again with his partner of a thousand battles on the track.
"Pedro and I used to train all the time in Cartagena with our school. I've been battling against him all my life. He's a very strong and talented rider, and I'm very happy to be able to face him in Moto GP," he acknowledged. "Before I get to the MotoGP, I think I'll have to gain more experience in terms of management and mentality. But I think I'll have to wait to get to know the bike and the feeling, because the MotoGP is entirely different than the Moto2 and theMoto3. I'll have to wait and watch the fastest riders in the first test in Valencia."
