Moto GP, Iannone returns to Malaysia: “An emotion”. He replaces Di Giannantonio

Bologna, October 28, 2024 – Five years have passed. Andrea Iannone he returns to Moto GP after a four-season disqualification and a season in Superbike with a private Ducati, finishing in eighth place, demonstrating, with an unofficial bike, that he is still competitive and aggressive. A long time has passed since that doping case and subsequent stop, Iannone he always defended himself with the thesis of contamination, but those who decided did not want to hear us and in the end the disqualification arrived. Iannone he suffered a lot, he couldn't get back on track with the best, but his patience was rewarded and last year he received a call from Ducati for the Superbike World Championship, contested with a less competitive team, and now that of VR 46 Pertamina to replace Fabio By Giannantonio. Iannone, therefore, returns to Moto GP.  

Andrea speaks: “It's an emotion”

At 35, after a career interrupted in the prime of his maturity, the time for redemption has come for Andrea Iannone, which after having performed well in the series-derived series will now have the opportunity to test itself with the prototypes, where it was stopped five years ago. He was driving a Aprilia and that damned contamination deprived him of four years of a tasty career. However, it is necessary to forget, get up, find the motivation and move forward to return to doing what he does best: riding a motorbike. The qualities of Iannone I'm not in question even at 35 years old and the year in Superbike, eighth overall in the world, has demonstrated it, but now comes the next step. Fabio's injury By Giannantonio, with a shoulder operation useful for returning to the top for 2025, has opened the doors of the VR 46 team to Iannone who from Friday in Malaysia will be riding the 2023 Ducati Pertamina, obviously on a fixed-term basis. For Iannone there is the possibility of riding the 2023 world champion bike: “It is a thrill to ride a world-class Ducati – his words – Moto GP is the most technologically performing championship and I am honored that they thought of me. Thank you for the great opportunity”. There is satisfaction and joy, but a five-year absence from the prototype championship can present the bill and the challenge of Iannone it will be very complicated, because the motorcycling world has evolved and everyone goes very fast: "It will be a beautiful and complex challenge since I haven't ridden a bike in this category for years - Andrea again - Among other things I haven't done any tests and so everything will be new. In any case I'm enthusiastic about working for Ducati and Team VR 46, also for the friendship that has tied us for many years". The final thanks are inevitable: "Thanks to Rossi, Salucci, Nieto and Dall'Igna for this wonderful opportunity". The return to the track of Iannone will therefore take place during the night between Thursday and Friday in Sepang for the first free practice sessions of the Malaysian Grand Prix at 3.45 am, while as regards the races, the Sprint Race will be at 8 am on Saturday morning and the long race at 8 am on Sunday morning. Read also - Moto GP, Ducati wins the team world championship, Tardozzi: "Fantastic year"