Fermin Aldeguer to miss Thai GP, Gresini names replacement

Fermin Aldeguer will sit out MotoGP’s season-opening Thailand Grand Prix on 1 March as he continues to recover from a femur fracture.

Although Aldeguer had already been declared unfit for the first pre-season test at Sepang earlier this month, he hadn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to action in Buriram following his crash in January.

But on Thursday, Gresini Racing announced that Aldeguer will skip both the Buriram test and the Thai GP at the same venue, compounding his early-season woes.

He will be replaced in Thailand by Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro, who also substituted for factory rider Marc Marquez in two races at the end of 2025.

“Fermin Aldeguer's recovery is progressing rapidly, though not enough to see him in Thailand,” the team said in a statement. “The Spaniard will not be present at the Buriram tests or the first race of the season. Michele Pirro will replace him.”

Fermin Aldeguer, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Aldeguer was training at the Aspar Circuit in Valencia last month when he fell off his Yamaha R6 and broke his left femur. He was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Barcelona, where he underwent corrective surgery.

Since then, he has been working with a special team in Andorra to shorten his recovery timeline.

The news means that Aldeguer will not be able to race until at least the Brazilian GP on 22 March, three weeks after the Thai event. The long injury layoff will severely compromise his preparations for what will be his sophomore season in MotoGP.

The Spaniard, who is directly contracted to Ducati, had high expectations for 2026 after winning the Rookie of the Year title last year with Gresini.