How Fermin Aldeguer’s first Gresini lap times compared to Marc Marquez in MotoGP Shakedown

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After a long winter break, bikes have finally returned to the track as MotoGP run its Shakedown session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

The test gives the manufacturers a chance to run their 2025 machines through their respective test riders. They can fix any issues they see before the official pre-season test next week.

Due to the concession rules, Honda and Yamaha can use their unlimited test days allowance to try and bridge the gap in performance after finishing in the bottom two of the constructors’ championship in 2024.

Yamaha have gone full-strength for the Shakedown with Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins, Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveria all taking part. It is also an opportunity for the three rookies to get extra track time.

Moto2 champion AI Ogura will get his first outing with Trackhouse, while Somkiat Chantra gets his chance to ride with Honda LCR.

Fermin Aldeguer has replaced Marc Marquez at Gresini in 2025 and while his times in the Shakedown are not much to go off at this stage, it is interesting to see how he compares to the six-time MotoGP champion.

Fermin Aldeguer’s Shakedown times with Gresini compared to Marc Marquez

At the end of the day, KTM test rider Pol Espargaro topped the time sheets with Ogura second. The former set a time of 1:59:691.

Aldeguer was fifth in the session with the best time of 2:00:053, around fourth-tenths off the pace of Espargaro on the KTM RC16.

It must be said that the riders may be on different run plans and track conditions may vary considering the Shakedown was held in January when the Grand Prix last year was in November.

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Furthermore, Aldeguer is a rookie while Marquez is a veteran of MotoGP and the pair were on different bikes, with the former on the title-winning GP24 and the latter on the older GP23 spec.

Marquez’s best time at the 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix was 1:57:301 set in qualifying, 2.7 seconds quicker than Aldeguer in the Shakedown. Even the 31-year-old’s best time in practice – 1:58:362 – was nearly two seconds up on the fellow Spaniard.

Last year, on the final day of the Shakedown, Marquez set a time of 1:57:270 on the GP23. This highlights that Aldeguer probably was not pushing as hard as he can as Gresini look to give him track time ahead of the Official Test in Sepang.

How Fermin Aldeguer is looking to improve heading into MotoGP debut

Aldeguer will be the only teenager on the MotoGP grid in 2025. The 19-year-old joins the premier class off the back of three full seasons in Moto2.

The Spaniard finished third in the standings in 2023 before finishing fifth in 2024 with three wins, five podiums and three pole positions.

Aldeguer has big shoes to fill as he replaces Marquez at Gresini. The six-time champion finished third in the standings on year-old machinery last season.

The 19-year-old will benefit from riding the GP24 this year as Jorge Martin rode it to title success last season over Francesco Bagnaia. Aldeguer is looking to improve his braking ahead of his MotoGP debut later next month.