Gresini rider Fermin Aldeguer faces a race against the clock to feature in pre-season as he will undergo surgery after fracturing his femur during a test in Valencia on Thursday.
The 20-year-old joined the factory contract with him Ducati MotoGP riders prepare for Marc Marquez’s return from injury in the test at the Aspar circuit. But the Spaniard’s crash overshadowed the incident after he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Gresini He announced in a brief statement I can’t help it He suffered a fracture to the shaft of his left leg during a test at Valencia. He will travel to Barcelona next Friday to undergo surgery to repair the center of the bone and will be leaving for Barcelona at an undetermined time.
Ducati gave the Marquez their Panigale V2 superbike to the test To satisfy MotoGP’s testing rules. Aldeguer is thought to have used a Yamaha R6 sports bike in the test, because Ducati did not give him a bike when they focused on Marquez’s return following his shoulder surgery.
Who should replace Fermin Aldeguer if he misses the 2026 pre-season test?
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If Fermin Aldegger misses the first 2026 pre-season test, Gresini should run Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega.
Aldeguer’s injury now threatens his participation in the first official MotoGP pre-season test at Sepang on February 3-4. Pedro Acosta needed seven weeks to recover from a broken femur in 2022.That would cause Aldeguer to miss preseason testing entirely.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Fermin Aldeguer’s rise to MotoGP and his rise
MotoGP also visited Buriram ahead of the Thailand Prix on February 21-22. Gresini is expected to name a replacement rider if he fails pre-season testing.
Gresini and Ducati could agree a deal for the world superbike ace of the Borgo Panigale brand. Nicolo opens. At least to replace Aldeguer in the Sepang test. Bulega stood in for Marquez in the final two rounds of 2025 and will now serve as Ducati’s MotoGP test rider in 2026.
Bulega could replace Aldeguer in MotoGP’s first pre-season in 2026 at Sepang, as it will not conflict with the World Superbike Championship schedule. But he will not be able to replace Aldeguer at the Buriram test due to the opening round of the 2026 WSBK season.
The World Superbike Championship’s first two pre-season tests in Europe are in Jerez on January 21-22 and Portimao on January 28-29. WSBK will test at Phillip Island on February 16-17 before the opening race of the new season in Australia on February 20-22.
Niccolò Bulega’s experience with the Ducati GP25 could be of great help to Fermin Aldegger.
Replacing Aldeguer in the Sepang test, Bulega could be a win-win situation for Ducati and Gresini. The 26-year-old Spaniard’s experience with the Desmosedici GP25, which he will use in 2026, could prove invaluable to Gresini, as they have only used GP24s in the 2025 season.
Read more: Every MotoGP driver has been ranked for the 2025 season as covered by Marquez Bagnaia
Do you agree with Torak Razgatlioglu that Niccolò Bulega deserves a MotoGP ride?
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as well as, Ducati will give Gresini’s Alex Marquez a factory GP26 in 2026 In the year As a reward for finishing second behind Marc Marquez in the 2025 standings. Therefore, Aldeguer cannot rely on his teammate’s information from the Sepang test to learn GP25 if he has to skip the test.
The GP25 wasn’t the easiest bike to get performance on in 2025, so Aldeguer didn’t want to launch further back after breaking his leg in 2026. Francesco Bagnaia’s inability to adapt to Ducati’s 2025 ride height device He has seen the Italian lose confidence many times.
Bulega could benefit from more MotoGP track time as Ducati replaces Aldeguer, who is under factory contract at Bologna Bullets’ Gresini in 2025. Ducati have promised the Buleaga will go to MotoGP in 2027.Although the 850 cc regulations start the cycle.
