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Jorge Martin has given a thumbs up to the prospect of Moto2 rising star Fermin Aldeguer joining his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati team for the 2025 MotoGP season amid strong speculation that a deal has already been done.
The 18-year old Spaniard shot to prominence during the latter stages of the 2023 Moto2 World Championship season, reeling off four consecutive victories on the SpeedUp Racing Boscoscuro en route to third in the final standings.
It’s a turn of form that has already singled Aldeguer out as a hot favourite for the 2024 Moto2 title, but rumours out of Spain suggest a future in MotoGP is already assured after penning a three-year deal with Ducati from next year.
The contract is understood to guarantee him a seat at Pramac Racing next season, meaning he will be lined up to replace either Martin or new-for-2024 team-mate Franco Morbidelli in the Italian squad.
While Martin stopped short of confirming that a deal has indeed been made, he nonetheless offered up his approval should he join Ducati’s primary satellite operation.
“I think he [Aldeguer] is ready,” the 2023 MotoGP runner-up told reporters, including Crash.net, at the launch of the 2024 Prima Pramac Ducati GP24 in Bahrain .
“At the end of last year, he already showed his potential. Now he has to show it over a long season and fight for the title.
“But right now, he is the strongest rider in Moto2. I don’t know whether he has signed [for MotoGP] yet or not, but [if so] I’m sure this will give him confidence for the season.”
For now, however, Prima Pramac Racing boss Gino Borsoi has dodged questions regarding Aldeguer in favour of focusing his full attention on the season ahead.
“I just want to concentrate on 2024,” he told MotoGP.com.
“They are our riders so we are focused on the races and we are focused on bringing home the title of the team but we have another chance. But let’s see, about the future we will talk again, but later on.”
While it isn’t unusual for manufacturers to pin down riders many months in advance of their contracts actually starting, it is rare for a rookie to be honoured in such a manner.
Not only that, if the rumours do indeed turn out to be true, it is surprising to see Ducati prioritising Aldeguer’s signature before any of its current eight-strong line-up at this juncture.
It remains to be seen, however, who Aldeguer will succeed, but it is likely to place added pressure on Morbidelli, who – on the back of an underwhelming plus-two year stint on the factory Yamaha – is being watched closely in his attempts to mount a return to the sharp end of the grid.
Alternatively, there is anticipation that Martin might be the one to look elsewhere for 2025, particularly if he can’t secure himself a promotion into the factory Ducati Lenovo Team. If so, he is likely to be a hot target for the likes of Yamaha, Honda and Aprilia once ‘silly season’ kicks up a gear…
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