Iker Lecuona will replace Fermín Aldeguer on Gresini's Ducati at the British Grand Prix, MotoGP confirmed on Friday. It will be Lecuona's second appearance for the team this season and gives Gresini a substitute with recent experience of its MotoGP package rather than a rider starting from zero at Silverstone.
The change removes Aldeguer from the 12th round of the championship, scheduled for August 7-9. MotoGP described his absence as a precaution and said he has medical clearance to resume training from August 15. Gresini is planning to welcome him back for the Aragon round on August 28-30.
The timing makes this more than a routine reserve-rider announcement. Silverstone begins the championship's next phase after the break, with five riders separated by 24 points. Gresini therefore needs a replacement who can settle quickly while the leading group resumes a tightly compressed campaign.
A substitute with recent Ducati mileage
Lecuona already knows the immediate demands of stepping into Gresini's garage. He replaced Alex Márquez at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier in the season and finished seventh on Sunday. That was his first MotoGP start since 2023 and matched his second-best result in the premier class, according to WorldSBK's official account of the Silverstone call-up.
That result matters because a replacement weekend offers little time for gradual adaptation. Lecuona has already worked with the team, ridden its Ducati in a race setting and completed a full MotoGP weekend in 2026. Silverstone will still present a different circuit and a new competitive context, but the team can build from recent shared experience rather than use practice solely for introductions.
His wider form also gives the selection sporting logic. Lecuona arrives as WorldSBK's most recent first-time winner after taking his maiden victory at Donington Park three weeks ago. The result came in Britain and underlined his current race readiness, although a MotoGP prototype and the Silverstone layout create a separate test. The useful point is not that one result predicts another, but that Gresini is calling on a rider who has been racing at the front and has recent experience on its bike.
Aldeguer's return remains the priority
Gresini's stated schedule keeps the substitution clearly defined. Lecuona is covering Silverstone, while Aldeguer's planned return is tied to Aragon later in August. The official update did not provide further medical detail, so the responsible reading is limited to the team's timeline: training can resume from August 15, followed by a targeted comeback two weeks later.
For Silverstone, the immediate question is how efficiently Lecuona can recover the rhythm he found in Hungary. A seventh-place finish showed that his first stand-in weekend produced a meaningful result, while his Donington win suggests he returns with confidence from regular competition. Gresini has avoided an unknown quantity at a demanding point in the calendar; Lecuona now has a second chance to turn familiarity into another useful MotoGP weekend.
