Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer loved ‘winning the battle’ with ‘combative’ MotoGP rival at the Americas Grand Prix

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Fermin Aldeguer went into Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Americas expecting a hard time overtaking his MotoGP rivals, so especially loved winning his ‘battle’ against one rider.

The Gresini rookie has shared how those he spoke with on the grid ahead of the race at the Circuit of the Americas noted how challenging overtaking can be at the Austin, Texas venue. Yet Aldeguer proved it is possible to overtake at COTA before retiring from the Americas GP.

Aldeguer could only qualify in P12 for the 2025 Americas GP and retained his position at the start on Sunday. He also gained some early places to sit in P10 at the end of the opening lap and continued to make progress with further passes on Fabio Quartararo and Pedro Acosta.

Fermin Aldeguer loved ‘winning the battle’ with Jack Miller in the Americas Grand Prix

Johann Zarco then halted Aldeguer’s progress as the LCR Honda ace stole eighth place from the Gresini rookie shortly before Marc Marquez crashed out of the lead of the Americas GP. It took Aldeguer most of Sunday’s race to recover his rise before fighting Jack Miller late on.

Aldeguer produced a brilliant overtake around Miller’s outside exiting Turn 1 to start Lap 17 of the 19. The Pramac rider thought he covered the Gresini rookie off in their fight for P5 but he did not account for Aldeguer getting the switchback before rudely running up to Miller’s hip.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fermin Aldeguer with his rise to MotoGP and height

It was all in vain in the end as Aldeguer crashed at Turn 15 that same lap as he fought to pull away from Miller and to hunt Franco Morbidelli down for fourth place. Aldeguer was lapping COTA almost 1.5 seconds a lap faster than the VR46 Racing Team star when he hit a bump.

Still, Aldeguer loved getting one over Miller during his Americas GP quest after experiencing racing against the 30-year-old in Thailand and Argentina. The 19-year-old – who will turn 20 on April 5 – has picked his overtake around the outside of the Aussie at T1 as his best move.

“Wow, I don’t know, I liked Miller’s because he’s a combative guy,” Aldeguer told AS. “People already talked on the grid about how difficult it is. I’ve already fought with him during these two races, and winning the battle was nice. I didn’t finish it, but I liked it.”

Fermin Aldeguer will take a lot of confidence from his Americas Grand Prix display

Miller impressed F1 star Jack Doohan at the Americas GP as the Pramac rider held on to P5 after Aldeguer’s late fall. The Australian also gained places from his grid place after starting the race in P9. It made Miller the lead Yamaha rider at COTA and his best result of the year.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Jack Miller from net worth to wife

Aldeguer was due to record his best finish of the 2025 MotoGP season so far, as well, until the Spaniard’s late crash. He finished 13th on debut for Gresini in Thailand and would only manage 16th in Argentina with a long lap penalty after hitting Miguel Oliveira in the Sprint.

Still, the Murcia native will take a lot of confidence from his pace and ability to rise through the field after a difficult qualifying as the slowest rider in Q2. Pulling off an audacious move on Miller, who has four MotoGP wins from 180 races, will also help boost Aldeguer’s mood.