For the primary time because the 2022 season, MotoGP will welcome three new faces to the grid within the type of Fermin Aldeguer, Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra.
Whereas MotoGP’s expertise manufacturing system has been sizzling for a very long time, the final two years have seen only one new rider step into the premier class. Augusto Fernandez joined Tech3 in 2023 as reigning Moto2 champion, whereas his successor Pedro Acosta adopted in 2024.
Understandably, the hype surrounding Acosta was immense for his debut yr, wherein he scored a complete of 9 podiums throughout sprints and grands prix with the Tech3 GASGAS squad.
That very same pleasure hasn’t fairly unfold to 2025’s rookie crop, however Ogura comes as reigning Moto2 champion, whereas Aldeguer’s 2023 heater in Moto2 was sufficient to persuade Ducati he was MotoGP prepared firstly of final yr.
Chantra’s arrival to the MotoGP grid has raised a number of eyebrows given his profession statistics so far – two grands prix wins in 106 begins. However he breaks new floor as Thailand’s first ever premier class star and his debut will likely be welcomed with thunderous applause on the opening spherical of the marketing campaign in Buriram.
Inevitably, rookies are going to be in comparison with earlier debutants who set a brand new benchmark. On this case, what Acosta did in 2024 will likely be (unfairly) stacked towards what Ogura, Aldeguer and Chantra do that yr.
As a substitute, Crash has determined to replicate on who every of 2025’s three new riders succeed as rookies of their groups and the benchmark set there.
Ai Ogura – Trackhouse Racing (Succeeds Darryn Binder)
The reigning Moto2 world champion was one of many shock signings of the 2024 foolish season, although Trackhouse Racing’s contract with the Japanese star has aged tremendously nicely.
Ogura has been on the sting of a MotoGP debut for a while, although elected towards a assured step with Honda and LCR to pursue a mission that can seemingly swimsuit him higher when evaluating the present type of the RC213V relative to the RS-GP.
In an interview with Crash.internet – which will likely be going dwell this weekend – Trackhouse group boss Davide Brivio defined that Ogura’s mentality and his resilience as a racer appealed to the US-owned group as a lot as his velocity.
As Moto2 champion, Ogura would be the reference for the rookie crop this yr. By way of an intra-team comparability, he has the best benchmark of the lot. The final rookie to race for that group in its RNF guise was Darryn Binder.
The South African’s Moto3-to-MotoGP promotion with the then-satellite Yamaha squad was totally motivated by the monetary backing he introduced with him. He’d gained only one race in his time in Moto3 and earned a foul fame for his aggressive driving model.
As any younger rider would, he seized his likelihood to get into MotoGP. However in 2022, on an older Yamaha package deal, he scored factors on simply three events, with a tenth in a moist Indonesian GP his greatest exhibiting. When RNF moved from Yamaha to Aprilia for 2023, Binder was bounced into Moto2 the place he’s additionally did not make an affect.
In whole, Binder scored simply 12 factors in his sole MotoGP yr. Albeit in a time pre-sprints, Ogura shouldn’t have an issue matching this tally in his first yr.
Fermin Aldeguer – Gresini Racing (Succeeds Fabio Di Giannantonio)
Fermin Aldeguer
Aldeguer is arguably probably the most intriguing of the 2025 rookie roster. His route into grand prix racing was unconventional, although he was a dominant power within the CEV Stock600 sequence in 2020 and CEV Moto2 in 2021.
He additionally competed in MotoE in 2021 earlier than coming to Moto2 full-time in 2022. The next yr, on a Boscoscuro chassis, he gained 5 grands prix – together with the final 4 of the marketing campaign – to complete third within the standings and firmly put himself into MotoGP seat competition for 2025.
Ducati secured his signature earlier than the 2024 season started, which was simply as nicely as a result of Aldeguer’s kind was wildly inconsistent. Whereas there have been nonetheless three victories, he ended up fifth within the standings, doing so on the identical chassis that Ogura gained the title on.
Aldeguer additionally confronted some uncertainty over his future. Signing a manufacturing facility Ducati deal, Pramac was anticipated to be his vacation spot. Then the Marc Marquez manufacturing facility deal occurred, which led to Pramac switching to Yamaha for 2025. Ducati finally discovered Aldeguer sanctuary at Gresini, albeit on a year-old bike now.
The rookie benchmark at Gresini for Aldeguer is Fabio Di Giannantonio, who made his MotoGP debut with the group in 2022.
Di Giannantonio’s first season was troublesome. He didn’t rating factors till the seventh spherical of the yr in France and solely registered one prime 10, when he was eighth in Germany. After all, Di Giannantonio’s fortunes remodeled in 2023 when he was paired with crew chief Frankie Carchedi and went on to win his first race in Qatar that yr.
The Italian now has a manufacturing facility Ducati with VR46 for 2025.
A haul of 24 factors is what Di Giannantonio took away from 2022. However the Gresini group has confirmed itself to be an actual household ambiance in the previous couple of years, and one not afraid to attempt any means crucial to assist a rider get efficiency.
Di Giannantonio’s instance might also come to assist hold the strain off Aldeguer if he endures a troublesome first season of his two-year deal.
Somkiat Chantra – LCR Honda (Succeeds Takaaki Nakagami)
When Ogura signed for Trackhouse for the 2025 season, it was largely anticipated that this had saved Takaaki Nakagami’s seat at LCR for one more yr.
However LCR and Honda had different concepts, with Chantra getting the nod. With the Idemitsu-backed aspect of the LCR storage arrange particularly for an Asian rider, Chantra’s signing comes with the backing of a MotoGP mad nation in Thailand.
Buriram will host the season-opener for the following two years, whereas the championship will stage an official launch occasion in Bangkok on 9 February. In a market as profitable as Thailand is, Chantra’s passport undoubtedly labored to his benefit.
However he’s additionally certainly one of two former Asia Expertise Cup riders on the grid in 2025, with Chantra champion within the sequence in 2016 forward of Ogura. Chantra does have two grand prix wins in Moto2 to his credit score to get round accusations of merely being a rent purely for illustration.
Chantra faces the hardest job of all three rookies in 2025. He’s stepping onto the grid’s worst bike and is following within the footsteps of a reasonably stable earlier rookie for LCR in Nakagami.
The Japanese rider was a constant factors finisher in 2018 when he made his debut, ending the yr with 33 factors and a greatest results of sixth in a moist and wild Valencia GP finale. Nakagami, after all, went on to change into a beneficial determine for Honda by way of bike growth.
