After Jonathan Rea, another major name may be about to leave the Superbike paddock. Andrea Iannone, aka The Maniac, admitted in an interview with GPOne that he no longer has any offers for 2026 and is now seriously considering retiring.
Returning in 2023 after a four-year doping suspension, Iannone had two clear goals: to win back and return to MotoGP. Mission accomplished: he triumphed at MotorLand last season and even made a luxury replacement for VR46 at Sepang.
But at 36 years, the Italian driver is facing the harsh law of the market. His current team, Ducati Go Eleven, will not keep it, and despite the turbulence of the transfer window, no serious offer has been sent to him.
« I would like to continue, but with an ambitious and worthwhile project " he said, summing up his career dilemma in one sentence.
The situation is cruel: Ducati preferred to bet on Iker Lecuona, BMW chose Danilo Petrucci, and Honda turned to Jake dixon. As for the places still free (Yamaha, BMW, Honda), Iannone does not enter into any of the projects.
The spectre of default retirement threatens Andrea Iannone
He even considered creating his own private team, but the introduction in WSBK of the news Panigale V4R exploded costs. Too risky a bet to prolong the adventure.
Suspended at the end of 2019 after testing positive in Malaysia while racing for Aprilia, Iannone had confided: " My wish was to return home in peace »
It's done: he's proven he can still win, and that he hasn't lost any of his instincts. But the reality is brutal: his market appeal has disappeared.
After the departure of Jonathan Rhea and the exile of Toprak Razgatlioglu, lose too Iannone would be an additional shock for a championship which risks seeing three of its top players disappear in the space of two seasons.
The ball is in the Italian driver's court, and he will have to decide in the coming weeks whether to hang on at all costs or to close the chapter of his career once and for all.
