FERMIN ALDEGUER EXPLAINS CONTACT WITH FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO AT AUSTRIAN GP

Fermín Aldeguer’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend at the Red Bull Ring delivered a mix of progress, contact, and a difficult race for the young Ducati rider. After making it through to the second qualifying session, he ended that stage in last place, but from P12 he managed to climb a number of positions to finish eighth—good enough for two Sprint points.

In the main race, Aldeguer quickly found himself involved in a tense midfield battle around tenth place. He described the moment as a chain reaction: “Fabio Di Giannantonio wanted to get Quartararo, I was trying to overtake Alex (Marquez), everyone then wasn’t on the best line and I ran into Diggia with big overshoots—we touched. In the end he lost more places than me, but there were certainly already harder maneuvers.” Race officials did not pursue the incident further, with the “mini-crash” in the Ducati group not investigated.

Aldeguer’s pace improved as the race unfolded. He set his best lap on lap five and, drafting behind Brad Binder, closed in on the leading group. As Marc Márquez—who had been dealing with issues—came in and out of rhythm, Aldeguer also benefited from the shifting order, becoming the top Ducati rider at that point.

However, the race turned into a struggle for consistency. Aldeguer said the problems were not limited to tyre wear, noting that “apart from the tyres, which in the second half dropped off more than recently, the brakes were the real issue. They didn’t work consistently. In some corners I arrived almost without brakes.” With that limitation, he lost ground and had to fight his way back through the field. By the chequered flag, he had to pass Binder first, then Márquez, and in the closing phase he even had to go back to work again—this time getting past Pecco Bagnaia, the MotoGP rider who sits directly ahead of Aldeguer in the championship standings in ninth.

Looking ahead to 2025, Aldeguer framed the result with a clear comparison to his earlier success. He said: “Okay, there are many factors—the weather was much cooler and the other manufacturers have caught up. Back then we were fighting for the win, now it’s a fight for P5—that’s the reality.”

Despite the setbacks, Aldeguer showed sportsmanship after the race. He congratulated his compatriot on taking the first MotoGP win, recalling that Acosta had to wait nearly three years for the triumph, while Aldeguer—who had already won in his rookie season in Indonesia—reached that milestone earlier.