Fermín Aldeguer’s recent slump

What happened to Fermín Aldeguer? Honestly this is what I ask myself every time I watch him this season. I know he is very young, and I shouldn’t search for a Pedro Acosta in him, but we expected him to be a top contender to be the Moto2 champion.

There are a million components that make up a season for a rider, but what might be the most important is the mentality. Fermin signed a contract with Ducati that guarantees him a seat in MotoGP. After Morbidelli’s new contract with Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, the only available Ducati seat remaining is next to Alex Marquez with Gresini Racing MotoGP.

The signing wasn’t uncalled for in my opinion, Fermín proved himself at the second half of last season. We know how lethal he is, but only on a short period of time. He was unbeatable in the last four races (Thai GP, Malaysian GP, Qatar GP and Valencia GP). But to be a champion it takes more than 4 Grand Prixes to earn it. Even though he has more points after 11 weekends compared to last year, we expected him to achieve much more than 5th place in the standings. It seems like Fermín is in a bad place mentally, his performances are fluctuating and it doesn’t help that his teammate is performing better. Alonso Lopez is 8 points ahead of Aldeguer.

Us mere mortals cannot comprehend what it is like to go well above 200 km/h on a deathly machine. So, when an incentive is vacant why would you challenge yourself to go above and beyond. Ask yourself this question: Would you possibly risk your life almost every weekend, when your future is already settled? I think not. It is possible that Fermín is looking at the bigger picture and thinks (rightfully so) that he shouldn’t risk injuries.

As the season’s second half in already in motion, we don’t have to wait a lot to find out what is Fermín Aldeguer capable of this season, because I think his true talent will come out in crunch time. Until that we are left wondering whether Ducati has blundered again or struck gold this time.