ALDEGUER RETURNS IN ARAGON WITH P5 AND DIRECT Q2 SPOT

Fermin Aldeguer returned to MotoGP action in impressive fashion at MotorLand Aragón, delivering a strong Friday comeback after his injury layoff. The 21-year-old Spaniard, who had his Ducati contract extension officially confirmed during the week, looked immediately comfortable as he pushed into the top group in the afternoon session. He ended the day fifth, and—crucially—secured direct qualification for Q2 on Saturday.

Aldeguer’s performance surprised even him. With his crew watching closely as he climbed through the times, he admitted he did not expect to be this competitive so soon. “I have this result here today definitely not expected,” he said. He added that the sensation on the bike felt unusually smooth: “The feeling was actually good from the beginning—as if nothing had happened before.”

He also spoke candidly about his physical condition. “I’m honestly surprised about my physical condition,” Aldeguer said, stressing that he still needs to see how he feels the next day. He explained that once he started putting in pressure, he ran several consecutive laps—“six or seven rounds”—and felt good throughout. “I felt good—especially I had no pain. It was only the small muscles that you always feel on the MotoGP bike. Yes, I’m really surprised.”

While the fifth place and Q2 ticket were clear positives, Aldeguer believes there is still room to improve. “I still need more laps to understand where we can do something,” he said. He noted he does not yet know the exact limit and wants additional information before judging the full potential. “I think we have some room for Q2 tomorrow. With the new tyre I didn’t manage the perfect lap. But we achieved our goal for the weekend—now we have to work step by step.”

Aldeguer also addressed comments from other riders about Aragón’s tendency to cause front-end blocking. He acknowledged the general issue but said his own day had been controlled. “This track is one of those where the front wheel likes to lock more,” he said. “But honestly today I had everything under control. I don’t know if it’s because of the setup or because I tried step by step to brake later. I’m really surprised.”

Looking back at expectations before the first session, Aldeguer said the initial plan on Thursday was simply to get back into rhythm. “On Thursday the goal was still to just do laps here and get back into the flow,” he explained. Now, he believes a top-five fight could be possible, and he underlined the importance of qualifying strongly: “It would be very important to be in the top-6 tomorrow in qualifying. Then we’ll see.”