We may only be a few days into the year 2024 but that hasn’t stopped some MotoGP riders and teams looking well ahead into the future amid talk Fermin Aldeguer has agreed a deal to join Ducati in 2025.

The Spanish youngster has emerged as one of grand prix racing’s hottest prospects after bursting to prominence during the second-half of the 2023 Moto2 season.

Becoming the first rider since Toni Elias back in 2010 to reel off four consecutive Moto2 race wins, the Speed Up Racing rider would end the 2023 Moto2 season being mentioned in the same hallowed breath as Pedro Acosta when it came to tipping riders for future success

For now, Aldeguer is committed to another season in Moto2 with SpeedUp Racing, the team run by his personal manager Luca Boscoscuro, but according to Spanish publication El Periodico the 18-year old has been spotted in Bologna recently to commit his future to Ducati for 2025 onwards.

Where would Fermin Aldeguer fit in at Ducati?

It’s a tough question, a scenario made all the tougher potentially should Valentino Rossi choose to take his VR46 Racing set-up away from Ducati and over to Yamaha instead.

That said, given Rossi has his own methods for hiring new talent - thus putting the likes of Manuel Gonzalez ahead of Aldeguer by way of association anyway - Aldeguer is more likely being primed for a switch to either Gresini Racing or Pramac Racing.

While on paper the more likely option appears to be Gresini, much will depend on how Marc Marquez adapts to life at Ducati, while it is worth pointing out that only three riders on the current grid actually have deals in place for 2025.

More likely, however, is Pramac Racing with Aldeguer being lined-up as a potential replacement for Jorge Martin, the Spaniard having indicated this year that he will leave the Italian satellite squad regardless of whether it is for a move into the factory Ducati squad or with another manufacturer.

BSN says…

You know what they say, once you’ve got that first one win under your belt, the pressure is off and you swing more freely…

Even so, few expected Aldeguer’s dominance during the final rounds of the 2023 Moto2 season to be so devastating and so impressive. After all, while Acosta has shown himself to be metronomically quick at the front of the field if he leads from the front, the KTM favourite’s riding style is somewhat abrasive and less fluid if he is fighting back through the field.

By contrast, Aldeguer’s five wins total in 2023 showed great versatility - he won in the wet at Silverstone, he fought back from an early mistake in Qatar, he dominated from turn one in Thailand, he survived a turn one clash in Malaysia and he shrugged off intense and distracting attention off track to ease to success on track at the Valencia finale.

With KTM having dominated young rider graduates to MotoGP in recent years with Remy Gardner, Raul Fernandez, Augusto Fernandez and Acosta, Ducati seems keen to get back to discovering exciting new talent having been somewhat dormant over the last couple of years.

It makes sense, Ducati has proven it has a keen eye for talent - the last time it did a round-up of promotions it introduced Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini to the MotoGP grid…