On the occasion of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, Andrea Iannone returns to MotoGP after four years of absence due to a sanction imposed on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirming and toughening that of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). ) and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) for a violation of anti-doping rules, precisely during the 2019 Malaysian Grand Prix, with the presence of Drostanolone (an anabolic steroid appearing on the 2019 list of products prohibited by WADA). A period of suspension of 18 months was then imposed on him.
Four years! An eternity for a high-level athlete at the top of his form! Suffice it to say that on the evening of December 16, 2019, no one gave the Italian, then 31 years old, the slightest chance of returning to the premier grand prix category…
It was very little to know the feeling of injustice and the tenacity which then animated the Vasto pilot. Day after day, hour after hour, The Maniac Joe only thought of one thing, returning to motorcycle racing to demonstrate that he had lost none of his talent. And he did it! Competing this season in the Superbike world championship on a Ducati Panigale V4R from the GoEleven team, the number 29 even managed to win the Saturday race in Aragon, thus offering itself “the happiest day of my life!” “.
But destiny, and undoubtedly also the recognition of his peers, starting with those of Ducati and Valentino Rossiwould give him the icing on the cake: participating in the Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix as a replacement for Fabio Di Giannantoniohe having decided to have surgery before the end of the season. This golden opportunity worthy of a novel scenario with twists and turns, Andrea Iannone immediately seized it, without thinking for a second, already savoring in advance his revenge on bad luck despite the obvious difficulties of a return to a MotoGP category which has evolved considerably in four years.
Last year, Alvaro Bautista was offered a wild card at the same place, and despite his double world title in Superbike the Spaniard finished 36 seconds behind in the Sprint and 52 during the Grand Prix…
Nicolo Bulegaexceptional rookie in the 2024 Superbike world champion, has indicated that he will only accept this possibly proposed mission if a private test session is organized beforehand…
Andrea Iannonefor his part, has no use for these unappealing data of which he is nevertheless very lucid, and, on the contrary, savors this moment in advance without setting any other objective than to take pleasure.
“I'm excited to be able to feel the power of MotoGP again, it will be fantastic to be able to ride the world champion's bike. It is difficult to make predictions, the level is very high and I am aware that it will be complex, but I hope it will be a weekend where I can have fun. »
It is therefore dressed in yellow and with the full approval of
Valentino Rossi
thatAndrea Iannone will attract the spotlight on the sidelines of the fierce fight for the world title at the scene of his misdeed which he still contests.
Sepang, and its restaurants, have certainly not brought him luck, but the Italian still holds the record for the highest speed reached on the Malaysian track, namely 339.6 km/h with his Ducati in 2015!
Indeed, the progressive development of ailerons from 2016 has inversely reduced the maximum speed in favor of support on the front axle. Last year, Jorge Martin was the fastest in 337.5 km/h, while during the same period the best lap time improved by a second and a half, from the 1'59.053 achieved by Dani Pedrosa in 2015 at 1,57,491 obtained by Francesco Bagnaia
last year.
Obviously, at 35, Andrea Iannone no doubt makes fun of all these data, only preparing to get on his Desmosedici GP23 from the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing team to savor a pleasure equal to the frustration of these four years of abstinence…
Have fun, Mr. Iannone!
What if The Maniac surprised everyone once again?
MotoGP Malaysia Iannone Sepang
