Andrea Iannone will replace the operated Fabio Di Giannantonio on the Ducati of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. He will be in his place at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang this weekend.
After his four-year suspension, Iannone made his return to World Superbike this year and took a victory in Aragon. Winner of the 2016 Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Italian will make his first appearance in MotoGP since the 2019 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
Andrea Iannone: “Riding the world champion bike is exciting. A MotoGP is the most technological and high performance motorcycle, I am honored that they thought of me and I felt that I had to say yes to this opportunity immediately as soon as it was offered to me. The challenge is certainly crazy, complex and demanding, because I haven't ridden a motorcycle in this category for years and without having done any testing. »
“I am very happy to be able to work with Ducati and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, both for the very high level and for the friendship that has linked me for years. I thank Valentino Rossi, Alessio Salucci, Pablo Nieto, Gigi Dall'Igna, Claudio Domenicali and Mauro Grassilli. »
Alessio Salucci, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Director: “I am very happy to confirm that Andrea will race under our colors on the Ducati Desmosedici GP. First of all, Andrea showed that he is in great form, he finished the WorldSBK season in style and always remained close to Ducati. He is a great friend to the VR46 family, both mine and Vale's. »
“We are very happy to welcome him to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and to see him back on a MotoGP; It’s really a beautiful story! At the same time, we all wish Fabio good luck as he will have shoulder surgery this week and we look forward to seeing him back on track in 2025.”
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