He was a precocious talent, taking part in youth championships and then Moto2, 2025 Rookie of the Year in MotoGP™. Fermin Aldeguer’s path to the top series in motorcycling was unusual in some ways. He came to the World Championship not from Moto3, as many do, but through MotoE, the class reserved for electric motorcycles, after an experience in the European Moto2.
2022, when Fermin was just 17 years old, was his first full-time season and the one where he really began to shine in the Moto2 class world championship. Two pole positions were merely a prelude to his first victory, which came the following year at Silverstone followed by a stunning final four wins between Thailand and Valencia. 2024 didn’t quite meet expectations, with three wins and only a fifth-place finish in the Championship, but the contract for MotoGP™ was already signed.
The chat with Fermin took place during the Dainese Project Apex at Mugello, an unprecedented event where professional riders and engineers and designers from the Dainese R&D department met to work on developing and refining the racing clothing and protectors of the future.
Hi Fermin, it’s a pleasure to be able to talk things over with you. Let’s start by talking a bit about your past and how you came to motorcycling. Have you always been passionate about motorbikes?
“Yes, all my life. I learned to ride as a child, at two years old I was already on a bike and I already started training with a team, like a professional rider, when I was four. It’s a passion passed on to me by my dad\, who’s definitely the person who has influenced me the most.”\
What’s your first memory connected to this passion?
“I remember when I accompanied him, my dad. He used to ride as an amateur on Sundays at a track near Murcia, the city where I was born. But the first time I went on a circuit was in Alicante. I was four years old.”
What was your dream as a child?
“I always wanted to get to the World Championship, but above all I dreamed, and still dream, of becoming World Champion.”
If you hadn’t become a professional motorcycle rider, what do you think you would have done?
“That’s a difficult question to answer, because I’ve done this my whole life. I’ve thought of nothing else, and I haven’t wanted anything else. But if I really have to, I’d say Formula 1 driver. I still imagine a life dedicated to racing.”
What’s the meaning of your race number?
“I was born on the 5th of the 4th, very simple.”
Now let’s focus on the mental aspect of your passion and your calling, something rarely mentioned in traditional interviews, which more often focus on podiums and results. How do you prepare before a race, from that perspective?
“I’ve created my personal routine. I try to do the same things, with the same timing. In the morning I always wake up and have breakfast at the same time, I go and change and warm up at the same time; I always try to do everything the same way to acquire a method, which helps me have order. When I get dressed I put on my right boot first, then my right glove, and I make the sign of the cross, cross myself and the bike. Then I close the visor and it’s full gas.”
And on the grid, in the very last minutes before the start, how do you behave?
“I try to be relaxed, not too focused or anxious. I talk to the chief engineer, with my assistant. I want to clear my mind and avoid building up tension and nerves. Then, when everyone leaves, then, yes – at that point I start thinking about the first corner and my opponents.”
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in your career?
“There are so many things that come to mind. The hard work you do every day is definitely fundamental, but above all, I think, it’s important to have fun and enjoy every moment on the bike, which is our passion. For me that’s the key to doing well, to keep having fun despite the pressure and despite this being a job for me, for us.”
What if you had to give advice to a young person who wanted to try pursuing this career?
“When you’re young in particular, you shouldn’t put pressure on yourself, shouldn’t want to get there at all costs, shouldn’t want to become the World Champion right away and inevitably. It’s important to build your career, in your own way and without hurry, take your path one step at a time, work hard every day and reap the results that come as you progress.”
What would you still like to learn?
“There are so many things. I’d like to have more discipline, like older and more experienced riders than me, but now I’m young so of course I also like the pastimes of young people of my age; but you also need to know how to say no to things. Then there’s always something to learn on the bike. In every round and every race I realize I can or have to improve some element.”
After years of dedication you got to MotoGP™ – do you feel more like you’ve arrived or that you’re at a starting point?
“I feel like I’m at a starting point. But I guess it’s not that way for everyone: maybe if I’d arrived towards the end of my career, or without getting big results first or a bit audaciously, not knowing whether I’d be there for a long or a short time, then I’d say I felt like I’d arrived. But given how it’s going – I’m twenty and I’ve won various races in Moto2 – I see everything like a natural crescendo, and that makes me happy.”
What did you have to give up to become a professional rider?
“Lots of things. Many times I had to give up going out with friends, partying, lots of family vacations, even buying the shoes I liked the most because maybe we needed that money to pay for tires or gasoline for training. There are lots of things you buy with money, but there are also lots that you need time for, time I could have spent with the people I love.”
Fermin, now let’s talk a bit about your clothing – you’ve been wearing Dainese clothing for a relatively short time, since about halfway through the 2024 season, so you’re in a position to assess the differences from companies you’ve collaborated with in the past. How are you finding yourself?
“Honestly, very well. Dainese is a company with a lot of experience and it’s worked with the best. I was immediately struck by the comfort of the suit, especially in the leg area. But really the best thing as far as I’m concerned is the integration between the suit and the IN boot – the freedom and precision of foot movement are outstanding, as are the safety and aerodynamics. Since I passed to Dainese, by the way, I never got hurt again.”
I also really like the way this company works – here you always want to do something more, you don’t think you’ve already achieved perfection. That aspect helps me to have confidence in Dainese, because I know they always give it their all to improve the product. That’s not a given either – at other companies it often doesn’t happen.”
Some riders say an airbag is like a helmet – after you get used to wearing it, you can’t ride without it. What do you think?
“I definitely agree. Just think, I even use it with the minibikes at the kart circuit. It gives you more confidence. It’s true that it’s designed to open above all at higher speeds, but if you know you have it you have peace of mind.”
How can you feel calm at 300 km an hour? Are you never afraid? Does clothing help you with that?
“When you know that you’re safe even if you fall at high speed, that you very probably won’t get hurt, when you know that everything’s fine and you feel your suit is a part of you, then you can think only about riding. Without fear.”
Beyond the world of motorbikes, what hobbies do you have or what do you think you are good at?
“I enjoy spending time with my loved ones, family, girlfriend, friends. As well as motorbikes, I have fun with rental karts, whereas I’m no good at soccer at all. One thing I really enjoy is walking in the mountains, also at high altitudes. I live in Andorra and sometimes I get as high as the peaks of 3,000 meters. It’s great training, among other things.”
What’s your next goal?
“Winning a race in MotoGP™.”
Congratulations Fermin, who hit the target, just a few weeks after this interview.
