Bagnaia hails future Ducati MotoGP rider Aldeguer as “one of the fastest of new era”

Earlier this week ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Ducati announced it had signed Moto2 star Aldeguer to a two-year factory contract.

Aldeguer, who won five races on his way to third in the Moto2 standings last year, was linked to possible 2024 MotoGP steps with Honda and VR46 before electing to remain in the intermediate class with Speed Up for one more year.

The 18-year-old is one of the paddock’s top prospects and Bagnaia believes he can do good things if his approach to his debut season is sensible.

“I think that Fermin is one of the fastest riders of the new era,” Bagnaia said.

“I think last year he did amazing things in the last part of the season.

“There was in a race last year where he impressed me a lot, which was in qualifying in Phillip Island, where he did a lap time that two, three years ago in MotoGP wasn’t bad – it was like second, third row.

“So, it was incredible. And I think that if him and his entourage can keep calm and just try to do everything step by step, he can do a really good job without any pressure. He has the potential to be strong.”

While it has not been officially confirmed, Aldeguer is set to race for Pramac in 2025.

This will most likely be in place of 2023 runner-up Jorge Martin, whose team boss Gino Borsoi told Autosport recently that the Spaniard’s time with Pramac “has come to a bit of an end”.

Martin declined to comment on his future situation on Thursday in Portugal.

“For me, congratulations to Fermin,” Martin said. “He’s a really good friend of mine, so I’m really happy for him. I think he is in a similar situation to me. I arrived [in MotoGP with] Pramac, with a factory bike.

“So, it’s quite similar. I think he deserved it and we saw that at the end of last season.

“I think it’s not the moment to speak about my future. I already demonstrated, but I have plenty of time to demonstrate [myself to a factory team] this year. So, I guess my manager is working on it.”