Fermín Aldeguer: The "Sliding Door" of his racing career

Today, we know Fermín Aldeguer as one of the main protagonists of MotoGP, where he has already become a “race winner” after previously achieving a number of wins in Moto2. But what if I told you that one particular event changed the course of his career, becoming almost fundamental to his journey towards MotoGP?

Such event has been forgotten by many, including some of the people who were personally there. And it's exactly what this article is about.

A step back

We are in January 2020. Outside it turns dark pretty early, and cold is still prominent, but Verona shines in front of countless motorcycle racing fans. Motor Bike Expo is a big event for motorcycling lovers and, among other things, it's where a few motorcycle racing teams unveil their programmes for the upcoming season. More precisely, 18 January 2020 is the day the VNE Snipers Team is presented (with Sky Sport MotoGP Italia journalist Rosario Triolo as host). The team is already making its mark in the Moto3 World Championship with Tony Arbolino and is set to tackle the new season with the Italian rider and with new recruit Filip Salac, whom I interview on that occasion.

Alongside the Moto3 World Championship team, however, another project involving the team led by Mirko Cecchini is presented: a programme involving youngsters Edoardo Boggio and Matteo Masili and, above all, a “Junior Team" run by José Manuel Ruiz Gómez’s Tey Racing, with the support of the VNE Snipers team. The team is to compete in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, within FIM CEV Repsol (which will later become JuniorGP and MotoJunior), fielding two young riders coming from the European Talent Cup. Those riders are Filippo Maria Palazzi and... a then 14-year-old Fermín Aldeguer!

Aldeguer is coming off a 2019 season, in which he scored three podiums and finished third in the European Talent Cup, behind champion Izan Guevara and Iván Ortolá and ahead of José Antonio Rueda, David Alonso and Diogo Moreira. Moving up to the Moto3 Junior World Championship is therefore a natural step for him. Everything seems ready for the season, but shortly afterwards, everything changes...

A sudden change

I don't need to explicitly tell you what happened. It's enough to remember that this story takes place in 2020...

Apart from that, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts everything and creates an extremely difficult situation for countless families as well as many companies, which are often forced to re-think their plans and investments. The Snipers Junior Team is no exception. Some sponsors pull out, the budget is no longer sufficient, and the project therefore falls through, forcing José Manuel Ruiz Gómez (the technical "soul" of the project) and the riders to look for alternative solutions.

While Filippo Maria Palazzi manages to find an alternative seat still in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, things go differently for Fermín Aldeguer. And the question is: what opportunity is coming his way?

The turning point

After lots of work behind the scenes, Aldeguer is able to continue racing within the FIM CEV Repsol, but in the Stock 600 class, which is still racing within the Moto2 European Championship. This becomes possible thanks to the Fau55 Tey Racing team, which is formed meanwhile through the collaboration between Héctor Faubel’s Fau55 Racing and the aforementioned team run by José Manuel Ruiz Gómez. In this deal, a decisive role is played by Héctor Faubel: a 125cc World Championship runner-up, the former Grand Prix rider has been the manager of Aldeguer since late 2019 (and would later represent other riders as well, including David Muñoz).

Once the season is finally able to get underway after the restrictions, it exceeds all expectations. Aldeguer feels completely at home on the Yamaha R6 and while Yari Montella becomes Moto2 European Champion, Aldeguer dominates the Stock 600 championship in that same year and in those same races, winning a season long battle against rival Álex Toledo, including a particularly heated showdown at the final round at Valencia. Looking back at it today, that title represents the real turning point in his career.

In 2021, Aldeguer moves to the Moto2 European Championship with the Ciatti team. And he becomes the champion again, while also racing in MotoE with the Aspar team and making his Moto2 World Championship debut towards the end of the season, replacing Montella at Speed Up Team. Then... we know how his career unfolds: podiums and victories in the Moto2 World Championship, a move to MotoGP as a Ducati factory rider (before even turning 20!) and strong performances in the premier class as well.

Would Fermín Aldeguer have reached the Grand Prix paddock by coming through the Moto3 Junior World Championship, as originally planned that year? We will never know, but one thing is certain: that “unexpected” turn of events in 2020 played a very important role in his career.

I will conclude the article with one final note: when he won the Stock 600 title in 2020, became the Moto2 European Champion in 2021 and reached the GP paddock at the end of 2021 (before competing there full time from 2022), Fermín Aldeguer became the first rider to reach the Grand Prix World Championship by following this particular path. A path that was later followed, although without winning the Moto2 European title, by other riders such as Álex Escrig and Daniel Munoz.