The key weapon Gresini has given its MotoGP rookie to help him flourish

Gresini’s sporting director reckons the team has given Fermin Aldeguer “the best crew chief” in Frankie Carchedi that a MotoGP rookie can have for their first year.

Aldeguer, 19, steps up to the MotoGP class this season with Gresini after agreeing a deal with Ducati at the beginning of last year.

Having impressed in his time in Moto2, in which he won eight grands prix over the last two seasons, Aldeguer grabbed headlines in his first test of the Ducati in Barcelona last November when he finished as top rookie.

He will be paired with Carchedi as his crew chief, who worked with Marc Marquez last year and was world champion with Joan Mir in 2020 at Suzuki.

Speaking at Gresini’s launch event for the 2025 season on Saturday, Masini has set Aldeguer the target of winning the rookie of the year title.

“For sure, last year there is always ups and downs, but I think he has the speed, he has the talent,” he said.

“And for sure, I’m a bit impressed also with his first test in Barcelona because with used tyres he made some good laps.

“But I think we will enjoy the first year with a rookie, because it’s a completely different challenge between Alex and Fermin for us.

“But we are ready and I think we have the best crew chief to grow up a rookie. And also to be rookie of the year, it will be only the first target.”

In an exclusive interview with the Crash MotoGP Podcast, Carchedi revealed that Aldeguer was already able to take a “scary” step forward in braking during his first test.

Aldeguer will be on track for the Sepang shakedown at the end of the month ahead of the first official pre-season test.

Looking ahead to this, the Spaniard says there is no sense in focusing much on lap times and simply has to “enjoy” the experience of learning how to ride a MotoGP bike.  

“I thought a lot during this [winter] because the first test was very positive, because I felt very good from the start,” he said.

“But I have some things to learn. I tried this winter and now in Malaysia I have to stay focused, work in the good way, work with calm, don’t look at the times, the positions, and only enjoy and learn lap by lap.”