Gresini has revealed that Moto2 frontrunner Fermin Aldeguer will join the team in 2025, partnering Alex Marquez.
The announcement was nothing more than a formality, as Gresini was the last remaining team within Ducati’s stable that still had a seat available for next year.
Aldeguer’s move to MotoGP was confirmed at the beginning of the year and it was only a matter of Ducati finding a team for him to make the step up to the premier class.
Initially, the Borgo Panigale marque wanted to place him at Pramac which has been the proving ground for a number of its proteges, but Paolo Campinoti squad’s defection to Yamaha forced it to look elsewhere.
VR46 and Gresini were left as its two remaining options, with the former’s decision to recruit Franco Morbidelli earlier this month - ironically from Pramac - effectively confirming that Aldeguer would be headed to Gresini.
The news of Spaniard’s signing was communicated on Wednesday ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix.
Welcome to the family @Aldeguer54! #GresiniRecords coming soon... pic.twitter.com/7EHk1i1Lb7
— Gresini Racing (@GresiniRacing) August 28, 2024
The 19-year-old is currently in his third full season in Moto2 and sits fifth in the standings with victories at Jerez and Sachsenring. He was hired by Ducati on the back of a brilliant run at the end of the 2023 season, where he claimed four victories in a row between Thailand and Valencia to finish third in the standings.
Aldeguer will make his debut in 2025 with what will then be a year-old GP24 bike, the same machinery his more experienced team-mate Alex Marquez will have next year.
He will replace Marc Marquez, who will move up to the factory Ducati team next year to partner two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Gresini sits third in the teams’ standings after 11 of the 20 rounds, ahead of fellow Ducati team VR46 but also factory squads of Aprilia and KTM.
Marc Marquez has scored four of its five podiums so far in 2024, while younger brother Alex also stood on the rostrum in Germany last month.
Gresini will be the only non-factory supported squad in Ducati’s stable next year, as the Italian marque scales down to three teams following Pramac’s departure to Yamaha.