Aegerter: “No one can imagine everything I’ve gone through”

Dominique Aegeter failed to score points in eight of the 24 races in the 2026 season: partly due to technical problems, as was the case at the season opener in Australia. But also because he was initially too slow on the Kawasaki. His team-mate Jeremy Alcoba was almost always ahead of him, but the Spaniard, too, only really found his stride in the final quarter of the season and, with four wins and six podium finishes in the last six races, even went on to claim the World Championship bronze.

“This season we often struggled just to make it into the points,” said Domi Aegerter, reflecting on his difficult year in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “At the start of the season, we were a long way off the pace with the overall package, and my mindset suffered as a result. When you doubt yourself – whether you’re fit enough, eating enough, or are too heavy; whether you’re training too little or too much; when you think about giving up and wonder whether the team and the bike are any good – then everything becomes very difficult. No one can imagine everything I’ve done and thought – what I’m not doing right when I’m fighting for 17th place.”

With his second-place finish in the final race of the season, the two-time world champion proved that he is still among the best in this class. “That felt good,” emphasised Aegerter. “Even back at Estoril, I knew I could set the same lap times as the riders at the front.”

Domi Aegerter: The Kawasaki was different at the start of the season

Would it have helped the seasoned rider if Estoril and Jerez had come at the start of the season rather than at the end? Would the year have turned out differently then? “I don’t think I could have delivered those performances at the start,” Aegerter noted. “The bike now is different from the bike back then. The team helped to improve aspects such as throttle response, engine braking and the suspension. At the start of the season, we were a long way off with the overall package. We’ve improved steadily, but there were repeated incidents that shouldn’t have happened.”

It has been clear since mid-July that the Rohrbach rider will not be continuing with Kawasaki; the Green team are backing 2027 Sportbike World Championship runner-up David Salvador and former Moto3 champion Jaume Masia. Aegerter will remain in the Supersport World Championship and is currently exploring his options.