Solid MotoGP return for one Ducati rider but week off “important” before Misano

A pair of top-sixes at the Aragon MotoGP was something to be content with for Fermin Aldeguer, who says that MotorLand is a good place to make a comeback.

Aldeguer had been out of racing in MotoGP since he crashed in Practice at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of June and fractured a vertebra.

The Gresini Racing rider missed three races as a result, but returned at Aragon after riding production bikes for a couple of weeks or so.

On the face of it, Aragon could be a tricky track to return to, with hard accelerations, almost the whole lap spent on the side of the tyre, and many changes of direction.

But one of the key characteristics of the MotorLand track is its low-grip surface, which reduces marginally the intensity of riding compared to a high-grip track like Misano, as Aldeguer explained after the 23-lap race on Sunday.

“I feel really good, to be honest,” Fermin Aldeguer said. 

“Normally when we are on this kind of track where we don't have a lot of grip, we try a little bit less. 

“It's not like Misano where we have a lot of corners, a lot of grip, and there it's more difficult.

“I'm quite good. 

“Now I have one more week to rest and also to train. For me it's important, and we will see how we arrive [at Misano].”

Aldeguer’s two sixth places matched his second-best result of the season, when he was sixth at Brno. The only result better was his second in the chaotic Catalan Grand Prix.

“We have to be happy in general with the weekend,” the Murcian said. “We arrived from an injury and we were competitive in all sessions – less the qualifying, I do a lot of mistakes.

“I don’t say that, if I start in another position, maybe I finish more in front, but for sure it’s easier. But it’s like this. 

“We have to also improve from the mistakes and take all the positive things from the race, from the weekend, and two P6s in Aragon I think is a good comeback.”