Doubts over Fermin Aldeguer’s fitness: meeting with Nico Bulega

Fermin Aldeguer crashed three times over the weekend of the Indonesian Grand Prix on the holiday island of Lombok. In FP1 and qualifying, he skidded off without any major consequences, but crashed again during the long race on Sunday afternoon. It was, once again, just a harmless slip on his Ducati. However, Aldeguer was so upset that he slammed his flat hand onto the tarmac, as one sometimes does when really annoyed. It only emerged later that he had broken his hand doing this, rather than in the crash itself.

The 21-year-old underwent surgery in Barcelona, and the fracture at the base of the first metacarpal bone in his right hand has been set. However, it is doubtful whether he will be able to compete in Australia next weekend. On Saturday, he attended the Superbike World Championship in Jerez, with his right hand in a plaster cast and his arm in a sling to keep it still. Superbike World Championship runner-up Iker Lecuona is on standby as a replacement rider; he has already stepped in for the injured Aldeguer this year in Hungary and England.

Aldeguer at the Superbike World Championship in Jerez

In Jerez, Aldeguer met up not only with old friends but also with his future team-mate Nicolo Bulega, with whom he will ride in MotoGP in 2027 and 2028 as part of Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Ducati team.

“I don’t know him very well, but I think he’s a great bloke and he’s very fast,” said serial winner Bulega during his meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com. “He popped into my pit for five minutes; I hope I can learn a thing or two from him next year and that we’ll get on well. He’s got some MotoGP experience – not a lot, but enough.”

Superbike-Champion Nicolo Bulega fährt 2027 MotoGP

Foto: gold & goose

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Bulega can understand why Aldeguer was terribly annoyed about his third crash at Mandalika: “You’re pumped full of adrenaline and might have been having a brilliant race. Sometimes you see how all the hard work put in by your team and yourself goes down the drain because of one mistake. Fifty people fly halfway round the world and come home empty-handed because of it. It’s understandable to feel frustrated – it’s happened to me too. Then silly things happen. It’s not easy to stay calm when you’re riding at 300 km/h, come back to the pits and feel that you haven’t made your lads happy.”

Should Gresini need a replacement for Aldeguer, the Superbike champion won’t be available. “I’ll be at the Formula 1 race in Texas that same weekend, where I’ll be taking part in a Ducati parade, so I’ve already got something to do,” explained Bulega.