Motorsport.com Deutschland reports that Fermin Aldeguer is currently having the hardest time sleeping after a brutal run of form in MotoGP. While fellow sophomore Ai Ogura has taken a massive step forward on his Aprilia and secured his maiden Grand Prix victory, the Gresini talent has completely stalled.
It is an old adage in our sport that the second year is often the hardest. Most riders do not belong to the alien category of centurury talents like Marc Marquez or Valentino Rossi who win immediately. Instead, normal development involves bumps, setbacks, and recalibration. Last year, it was Ogura who suffered through a tough, crash-strewn campaign while Aldeguer shone bright. The tables have flipped dramatically for 2026.
Aldeguer's rookie year was filled with blistering speed. He nearly took fourth in Austin, grabbed twin third-place finishes in Le Mans including a wet-weather podium on Sunday, finished second in Spielberg, and claimed a stunning victory in Mandalika, regularly fighting inside the top six. But this season has been an absolute disaster of injuries and unforced errors, starting over the winter when he broke his left femur during private motorcycle training. The lingering effects are still visible in how he walks today.
More heartbreak followed at Assen with a fractured seventh thoracic vertebra that forced a two-month break, before a truly chaotic weekend in Mandalika where he crashed four times across Friday practice, qualifying, and the Grand Prix. In a flash of frustration after the race crash, he punched the asphalt and broke his right thumb, costing him appearances in Australia and Malaysia. Then came Qatar, where a misjudgment in the sprint saw him take out Francesco Bagnaia, resulting in two broken bones in Bagnaia's right foot. Pedro Acosta noted that missing races strips away crucial early-race sharpness, but two long-lap penalties felt entirely too light for such a heavy collision.
Beyond the physical toll, the machinery has not helped. Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli are stuck wrestling with the problematic old Ducati GP25. Iker Lecuona, who recently sampled Aldeguer's GP25 before jumping onto Alex Marquez's GP26 in Qatar, pointed out how drastically different the bikes feel. Aldeguer undeniably has the speed and talent to bounce back. Here is hoping a clean winter of recovery allows the 21-year-old to heal up completely and find his footing when the new 850cc era arrives.
MotoGP
