A long-standing Marc Marquez record could be beaten in Australian MotoGP

A win record dating back to Marc Marquez’s rookie MotoGP season could finally be beaten this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix by Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer.

The 20-year-old rookie scored his first premier class grand prix win last time out at the Indonesian Grand Prix, after dominating a chaotic race on his Gresini-run Ducati GP24.

It made Fermin Aldeguer the first rookie to win in MotoGP since Jorge Martin in 2021.

The Spaniard now returns to a strong venue in Phillip Island, where he qualified on pole in Moto2 for the last three years and won at last season.

If he manages to win the Australian Grand Prix, he could become the first rookie since Marc Marquez in 2013 to win twice in their first year, as well as the first since the seven-time champion to do so back-to-back.

“It’s pressure for sure,” Aldeguer said of this prospect.

“I hope, but I have clear my goals. For sure, I come here with extra motivation.

“We won the last race and Phillip Island is my best track. It’s my favourite track.

“Here I did three poles in a row. My last victory before Indonesia [came here].

“I come here with a good mentality, but with calm because it’s a different track with a MotoGP bike.

“For sure, the win and the cold is very different to Indonesia. We have to be careful and try to go step by step.

“Our goal for the rest of the season is to improve Fridays, and this is my first goal for this weekend.”

Aldeguer can also secure the rookie of the year prize for 2025 this weekend in Australia if he extends his 111-point advantage over Ai Ogura.

Though this was “one of my goals” at the beginning of the year, Aldeguer admits his victory at Mandalika has given him a taste for bigger things in the final four rounds.

“From the start of the season it was one of my goals, to be rookie of the year,” he said.

“We didn’t start in the best way. For sure, Ogura started better than me.

“But we recovered all the points. Unfortunately he had some injuries, [Somkiat] Chantra also.

“But now we are leading. Maybe here we can close this lead in the championship. But after my results, I have other goals.”