Portrait

Dominique Aegerter - Domi#77

I was born and grew up in Rohrbach, a small, tranquil village with around 1,400 residents in the upper Langenthal. Some call us Emmental, others Oberaargauer. This is because Rohrbach is located in the canton of Bern at the transition from Emmental to Oberaargau. I still live here today with my parents and within sight of my brother. This is where my roots lie. This is my home.

I came into contact with all kinds of vehicles and engines early in my childhood. My father owned a car and motorcycle garage, which he now rents out. From an early age I looked over his shoulders as he worked and soon spent a lot of time in his workshop. My interest in engines and technology was aroused very early on. I was only three years old when my father gave me a small motorcycle. With that I raced around our house. The neighbors would occasionally complain about the noise, which sounded like music to my ears. At this point, thank you again for your understanding and “sorry”. So my development as a racing driver began early.

I competed in an official motocross racing series for the first time when I was five years old. In the children's classes and in the junior category I quickly celebrated regional and soon national successes. In 2003 I switched to road racing and immediately came seventh in the first race in the German ADAC Junior Cup, 15th overall in my first season and was promoted to the 125cc class of the IDM (International German Championship). I raced there until 2006, reaching second place in the final year and becoming German runner-up.

During this time I was able to gain a lot of valuable experience in all areas and Olivier Métraux noticed me thanks to my achievements. He believed in me and my potential as a racing driver and supported me strongly over the next 10 years. I owe him my promotion to GP driver. Thanks to him, I was able to compete in the first two GPs in autumn 2006 and the first full World Championship season in 2007 with the Finnish “Ajo Motorsport Team” (125 cc/16th place). By 2009 I had improved to 13th overall World Championship position with Aki Ajo.

In the spring of 2010, thanks to Olivier Métraux, a new era began for me in the “CareXpert-Interwetten” team with promotion to the newly created Moto2 class. 2013 and 2014 brought consistently good performances at a high level with regular rankings in the “top ten” and in these two years I finished the Moto2 World Championship in 5th place. In 2014 I made it onto the podium four times and celebrated my first GP victory on July 13, 2014 at the Sachsenring at the German GP - and I'm doing everything I can to make sure it's not the only one.

In 2015 and 2016 I had bad luck with injuries for the first time in my career. In a collision during the race at the GP of Aragon (Sp) that was not my fault, I suffered serious back and hand injuries on September 27, 2015 and had to end the season early. In 2016, injuries from a fall forced me to miss two races and I was only able to continue the season with often almost unbearable pain.

For sporting and technical reasons, after long and thorough considerations, I decided to look for a new challenge, to part ways with Olivier Métraux with a very heavy heart and to switch to a new racing team for the 2017 season. The decision wasn't easy for me and, for reasons I still don't understand, it meant that my previous team no longer let me drive for the four remaining races of the year. Although I was only able to do two thirds of the races in 2016, I was still able to finish 12th in the final World Championship. I used the involuntary end of the season to catch up on the top sports recruit school in Magglingen, which had previously been postponed several times. The contact with athletes from many other sports was enriching and broadened my horizons.

In 2017 I drove for the German “Kiefer Racing Team” run by the brothers Stefan and Jochen Kiefer. I switched from Kalex back to the Eskil Suter chassis, on which I won at the Sachsenring in 2014, and felt very comfortable in the new environment. The collaboration between the bosses and the technicians was very professional and efficient in a family atmosphere. In San Marino on September 10, 2017 I celebrated my second GP victory in a dramatic rain race ahead of Tom Lüthi. Disqualification follows because of allegedly banned substances in the gear oil. Shortly afterwards, Stefan Kiefer died unexpectedly of heart failure at the Malaysian GP. For me, a world collapsed. Not only was he my boss and advisor, he had also become my friend. It took me a long time to get over this loss. After Stefan's death, our team lacked the organizing hand, even the soul.

The year 2018 was not a good year either. Throughout the year we were unable to satisfactorily resolve various technical issues. After an accident during enduro training, I got into a form crisis that I couldn't get out of and we ended our collaboration at the end of the season. But giving up was out of the question for me. I managed to deal with the disappointment and trained even more intensively in the winter of 2018/19. I found a new challenge with the new Italian team “MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward Racing”. The Italians had withdrawn from GP racing in 1977 and now with the number 77 I had the chance to take on an important role in their return to the World Championship. I felt very comfortable in this young team. But the technical difficulties in developing a new racing machine were enormous. At the end of the season I only managed to finish 22nd in the final World Championship, my weakest ranking in the Moto2 World Championship.

We could no longer agree to continue our collaboration. The failure of these negotiations meant the temporary end of my presence in the Moto2 World Championship. But it wasn't the end of my career. For the first time since the Moto2 World Championship began, I didn't have a contract in this class. But my rich racing experience and my track record enabled me to continue my career. By the start of the 2020 season, no other rider had competed in as many Moto2 races (164) as me and I was number 5 in the “all-time ranking” of World Championship points. And so I got into the German “Liqui Moly Intact GP Team”. signed a contract as a substitute driver for the Moto2 World Championship 2020 and drove the E-World Cup, the racing series with e-bikes, for this team. And in the Moto2 World Championship I made three appearances as a substitute driver over the course of the season and got into the World Championship points once (12th place).

Of course, I would have liked to return to the Moto2 World Championship in 2021. But unfortunately there was no possibility. This did not diminish my enormous motivation. But I had to reorganize my career with the help of my brother Kevin, who continues to take care of the management. On the one hand, I was able to drive the E-World Cup again for the same team. Working with this pioneering technology is fascinating, but with only seven races it couldn't be full time. So I looked for more challenges. I found her with the Dutch Ten Kate Team (Yamaha) in the Supersport World Championship. The Supersport World Championship in 2021 was driven on 600cc four-stroke machines. After the Superbike World Championship, it is the second most important class in the “Superbike scene”, racing on near-production machines. These races do not have the same media attention as the “GP circus”. However, because the machines are close to series production, they are very important for the motorcycle manufacturers and challenging for the drivers.

Saying goodbye to the “GP circus” and entering the Supersport World Championship was worth it. I won this 2021 World Cup straight away. Although I had to miss the race weekend (with two races) in Barcelona due to the scheduling conflict with the Moto E World Cup final. I managed to finish on the podium sixteen times and win ten races. At the MotoE World Cup I lost the overall victory due to a decision by the jury: I won the last race and the overall ranking, but the jury put me back in 12th place after a correct overtaking maneuver and so I was “only” left with second place. It is like it is. As a consolation, I probably had more media attention due to the controversial jury decision than if I had won the MotoE World Cup.

In 2022 I was able to compete again with the “Liqui Moly Intact GP Team” in the MotoE World Cup and we extended the contract with the Ten Kate team in the Supersport World Cup by one year. In 2022, unlike 2021, there was no scheduling conflict between the MotoE World Cup and the Supersport World Cup. With Ducati, MV Agusta and Triumph, three new brands competed in the Supersport World Championship and the technical regulations were changed. The title was defended with a total of 17 wins and a lead of more than 100 points. I also won the MotoE World Cup. I became a double world champion, so to speak. That sounds good, even though the MotoE class is not run as a World Championship, but as a World Cup. It was a dream season in every respect - and I was open to a new challenge.

Since 2023, this new challenge has been the Superbike World Championship, the premier class of serial motorcycle racing. I managed to get started in 2023 with Yamaha (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with 14 top ten classifications including two podium places and an 8th World Championship final place ahead of my teammate Remy Gardner (9th). I had secretly dreamed of a final World Cup ranking among the “top ten” - but as a newcomer to this class I couldn't expect that and so I was satisfied with my season even without victories and world titles. The Superbike World Championship is more demanding in terms of driving and technology (electronics!) than any class I have ridden to date. It suits me that I have always felt very comfortable on really heavy bikes. I hope that I will be able to confirm the good first Superbike season in 2024. That will be difficult. But I'm still at least as motivated as I was 20 years ago - if not more motivated. And I'm glad that I still have my brother Kevin at my side as manager and that I have the support of my loyal sponsors. I really appreciate this support. It is certainly not a given.