Fermín Aldeguer crossed the finish line in third place during the Malaysian sprint race, securing the coveted MotoGP Rookie of the Year title for the 2025 season.
The Spaniard broke into the top three at Sepang with a powerful ride in the latter half of the race, where he managed to catch and overtake Pedro Acosta. Shortly after the finish, however, it was announced that stewards were investigating the Gresini Ducati rider for a potential violation of minimum tire pressure rules, which could result in an eight-second penalty. Even if this penalty is applied, he will still be crowned Rookie of the Year, as even with a time penalty, Ai Ogura would not be able to surpass him in the standings by the end of the season.
“Today was a good day. Becoming Rookie of the Year was one of our goals at the start of the season, and we achieved it today. We were very close in Australia, but I had a poor race there. I’m certainly happy to be here. It was a crazy race with the front tire pressure. I tried to give 100%, I thought the pressure was fine, but my dashboard showed some kind of electronics issue, I don’t know if that’s confirmed. We should be happy, thanks to everyone at Gresini, to Ducati, to my family, and all my fans. We’ll have another chance tomorrow,” Aldeguer stated.