Fermin Aldeguer (5th): As if nothing had ever happened

Fermin Aldeguer made a stunning return to the MotoGP scene in Aragon on Friday. The 21-year-old Spaniard – whose contract extension with Ducati was made official earlier in the week – stormed to fifth place at MotorLand in the afternoon following his injury lay-off, seemed to be right up there with the frontrunners without any major issues, and ultimately secured direct qualification for Q2 on Saturday afternoon with ease.

Remarkably, in the closing stages of the afternoon session, Aldeguer even held the top spot for a while, much to the amazement of his crew. “I certainly didn’t expect this result here today,” the Murcia-born rider admitted candidly, adding: “The feeling was actually good right from the start – as if nothing had ever happened before.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised by how I’m feeling physically. Of course, I’ll have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow. I immediately put the pressure on for six or seven laps. I felt good – above all, I wasn’t in any pain. It was just the small muscles that you always feel on a MotoGP bike. Yes, I’m really surprised.”

Aldeguer sees room for improvement

However, Aldeguer knows: “I still need more laps to understand where we can improve. I don’t yet know exactly where the limit is. I need more laps and more information. I think we’ve still got some room for manoeuvre for Q2 tomorrow. I didn’t manage the perfect lap with the new tyre. But we’ve achieved our goal for the weekend – now we need to keep working step by step.”

Responding to comments from some other riders regarding the track, the Gresini rider said: “This track is one of those where the front wheel tends to lock up more easily. But to be honest, I had everything under control today. I don’t know if it’s down to the set-up or because I’ve been trying, bit by bit, to brake later. I’m really surprised.”

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Expectations ahead of the first practice session had been significantly lower. “On Thursday, the aim was simply to put in some laps here and get back into the flow. I now think we might be able to fight for a place in the top five. It would therefore be very important to be in the top six in qualifying tomorrow. Then we’ll see how it goes.”