Fermin Aldeguer: "I saw Pedro Acosta didn't have a lot of grip, so..."

2025 MotoGP rookie Fermin Aldeguer secured a first premier class podium in the French Grand Prix after a race the Spaniard says he “enjoyed a lot”.

Aldeguer started from the second row, and was in the leading group in the initial part of the race where the front runners were on slicks.

Pitting a lap later than Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing’s rookie lost time in the pit stops before recovering to finish on the podium for the first time in his short premier class career.

It also marked the first double-podium of Aldeguer’s career having finished third behind the Marquez brothers in Saturday’s Sprint.

“Today is more special than yesterday because the podium in a long race is more important,” Aldeguer told the post-race press conference at Le Mans.

“I’m very happy because we are arriving with a good progression, and for sure I am a rookie, we have to stay calm, but I’m very happy for the work that I’m doing, how I manage all the situations today – I did the same as riders with [more] experience.

“I followed Marc [Marquez] in the first part after a good battle with the slick, but when I continued one more lap with the slick I think I lost a lot of time.

“I was a little bit more nervous but I managed well.

“Also, when I changed the bike with the rain, I don’t have a lot of experience but lap-by-lap I was going better. Finishing on the podium today is incredible for me.”

Aldeguer added that the amount of the race that was run in the wet was daunting to begin with, but was pleased that he managed to stay calm in what was a new situation for him.

“With the rain, when I saw the laps and we had to do 20 more laps– the track was not in the best condition, my feeling wasn’t perfect, but I stayed calm, I put my little experience on the bike, I enjoyed a lot doing this little comeback,” he said.

That approach allowed him to reel in first Maverick Vinales and then Pedro Acosta to finish on the podium.

“I pushed my 100 per cent [to catch Acosta],” he said.

“For sure, [within] the limit, because today finishing fourth would also be a good result for me, but my pace was good, I felt good with the bike.

“Maybe if I went slower, I would lose the concentration and crash.

“But in that moment I was just thinking to arrive on the podium.

“I saw Pedro [Acosta] didn’t have a lot of grip, so I pushed my 100 per cent to arrive but [within] the limit.”