After a strong comeback, Andrea Iannone sets himself a new goal for the season and makes it clear that he would have retired if his performance had been poor
The racing comeback of ex-MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has been very successful so far. From the start of the 2024 WSBK season, Iannone battled for podiums and scratched at possible victories, despite not racing for four years.
In November 2019, the now 34-year-old contested his last race in MotoGP before the avalanche came crashing down on him. A positive doping test ruined the talented Italian’s MotoGP career. A few difficult years followed, but “The Maniac” made a comeback last winter.
At the start of the Superbike World Championship season in Australia, Iannone made it clear that he had not lost his talent during the four-year enforced break. Iannone rode as if he had never been away and racked up leading kilometers in his very first Superbike race
Andrea Iannone: “Wouldn’t have continued if I’d been around P15”
The good results were a great relief. “If I hadn’t been competitive, then I wouldn’t have continued in the championship,” clarified Iannone. “I had a clear idea when I came here. I would not have continued if I had been around P15. Then a young rider should have taken over.”
Before the start of the season, it was unclear what to expect from Iannone. The GoEleven team celebrated some top 8 results with Philipp Öttl, but never fought for the podium in the past two years. But that changed with Iannone
The WSBK rookie sets himself a new season goal for 2024
After the first three WSBK weekends of the current season, Iannone is revising his goal for the year: “Our original goal for the season was the top 10. But now the top 10 is no longer our main goal. We have realized that. “
“We now know that we can fight in the top 5 in almost every race. I have the feeling that we can win. And we will try to do that,” said the Ducati rider, emphasizing: “A win is possible!”
After the weekends on Phillip Island, in Barcelona and in Assen, Iannone is in P6 in the riders’ standings, level on points with compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha). This means that Iannone is currently the best non-factory rider in the overall standings.
Should world champion Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) decide to retire at the end of the season, Iannone is likely to be the first choice for the Aruba-Ducati team. However, Italian media have also linked Iannone to BMW
