Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi thinks one ‘very fast’ youngster is ‘the future’ of MotoGP

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has been very impressed by the performances one MotoGP rookie has delivered this season, despite them making ‘some mistakes’.

The premier class ushered in three fresh talents to the grid this year after Trackhouse Racing signed Ai Ogura, Gresini adopted Fermin Aldeguer and LCR Honda added Somkiat Chantra. Their new pilots replaced Miguel Oliveira, Marc Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami respectively.

It has not been a great start in MotoGP for Chantra, as the 26-year-old and Jorge Martin are the only riders still yet to score a point this season. But Ogura and Aldeguer have shown the premier class what rookies can deliver to score 29 and 20 points across the first four rounds.

Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi believes Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer is ‘the future’ of MotoGP

Ogura registered the best MotoGP debut since Marc Marquez in 2013 with the 2024 Moto2 champion’s P5 finish at the Grand Prix of Thailand. The Trackhouse pilot has even finished in the points in each Grand Prix thus far, although Ogura was disqualified from P8 in Argentina.

Aldeguer took a little longer than Ogura to adapt to MotoGP after Ducati placed the 20-year-old at Gresini on a two-year factory contract. The Spaniard came just P13 in Thailand, P16 in Argentina and crashed in America, before Aldeguer took his best result yet with P5 in Qatar.

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

Only 0.989 seconds would also separate Aldeguer and the eventual podium spots after KTM Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales lost his P2 in the Qatar GP over illegal tyre pressures. His speed at Lusail also further convinced Ducati boss Tardozzi that Aldeguer is ‘the future’ of MotoGP.

“I want to say a few words on Fermin, who is growing a lot,” Tardozzi told AS. “He started slowly – which is what we had told him – and he’s growing little by little.

“He’s making some mistakes, but he’s going very fast and deserves a special mention because I think he’s the future of this sport.”

Fermin Aldeguer has overcome his doubters to show his potential as a MotoGP rider

Aldeguer had to overcome his fair share of doubters after Ducati awarded the Gresini rider a two-year factory MotoGP contract in March 2024. He showed a lot of potential at the end of the 2023 Moto2 season with four-straight wins but could not maintain his form during 2024.

The Spaniard only came fifth in the intermediate class standings with 182 points – 92 fewer than Ogura scored to win the Moto2 title. But Aldeguer has clearly taken on Tardozzi’s words of wisdom to build into the Murcia native’s MotoGP career after some great recent results.

While the Gresini pilot may have crashed out in Austin, Aldeguer was fighting Pramac’s Jack Miller for P5 in America before he fell. He even arguably had the pace to contend for a top-three finish in Texas and showed that again in Qatar as he continues to develop all the time.

Being a part of the Ducati family is also helping him to develop, as Aldeguer is looking at the data of other Ducati riders to improve his braking and cornering speed. His next challenge is putting it all into practice, with Aldeguer at home for the Grand Prix of Spain next time out.