Gavin Emmett thinks Fermin Aldeguer’s Mandalika result has just raised ‘questions’ inside Ducati

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Fermin Aldeguer impressed as he secured his first front row start in MotoGP at Mandalika, leading Gavin Emmett to wonder whether it has raised “questions” over the performance of Ducati’s factory bike.

Marc Marquez looked out of sorts on the Lombok-based circuit as he marked his worst qualifying result of the season with a ninth-place grid slot for the Grand Prix of Indonesia.

Marco Bezzecchi took his third pole position of the season at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, ahead of Aldeguer in second.

The Gresini rider saved Ducati from losing their 98-race streak of having at least one bike on the front row of the grid.

Despite riding on 18-lap old tyres, Aldeguer out-qualified all three riders of Ducati’s factory bike atop last year’s GP24 spec as he managed to set a time over half a second faster than Marquez’s best effort.

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Gavin Emmett thinks Fermin Aldeguer outqualifying Marc Marquez has raised “questions” inside Ducati

Due to Francesco Bagnaia’s poor performances atop the factory GP25 this season, many have wondered if the tough adaptability of the current spec Ducati makes the GP24 a better bike in terms of consistency.

Bagnaia opted to revert to parts of the GP24 at the Japanese Grand Prix a fortnight ago, which proved to be fruitful as he notched a perfect weekend of racing with pole position and two race victories at Motegi.

Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of qualifying at the Grand Prix of Indonesia, commentators Gavin Emmett and Neil Hodgson discussed the impact that Aldeguer’s superiority in the top 12 shootout may have on engineers within the Ducati stable.

After Marquez secured a ninth-place start for the Sprint and Grand Prix, Hodgson said, “I feel like it’s [Bezzecchi’s] race to lose, and Marquez has squeezed somehow onto the third row of the grid. He will be, let’s say, optimistic.”

Emmett then added, “It does raise questions with Aldeguer there in second place on the GP24, doesn’t it? The pace of the Ducatis is off where they were with Martin, for example, last year. 

“Particularly on the GP25s, the two GP24s there in that session are ahead of Marquez and Di Giannantonio.”

READ MORE: Alex Marquez identifies where Pecco Bagnaia is ‘really fast’ as battle for P2 in the MotoGP standings heats up

Ducati may have made a mistake by not honouring Fermin Aldeguer’s factory deal with the team

Before the previous race weekend in Japan, Ducati announced that Alex Marquez would receive a factory bike in 2026 as a result of his impressive performances in the current campaign, which has seen him occupy the second-place spot in the championship for the majority of the season.

The declaration followed a report that detailed Ducati’s U-turn on honouring a deal with Aldeguer, which promised the young Murcian a factory bike in his sophomore season in MotoGP.

He was offered compensation that would benefit him throughout his MotoGP career as a compromise instead.

Aldeguer believes Marquez deserves the factory bike, but his impressive rookie campaign in the premier class, paired with his result in Mandalika, has shown that Ducati’s decision may have been the wrong one.

With the race weekend in Indonesia marking his 18th entry in MotoGP, the 20-year-old has shown great potential to be a future world champion.

Only time will tell if Ducati made the right choice in overlooking Aldeguer on the bike he was meant to receive.