It is an Andrea Iannone under surveillance and therefore under pressure who arrives in Austin this weekend. During the introductory sightseeing tours to the sporting event, he visited the Houston Space Center, which put his head in the stars a bit. But the big bang that he caused in Argentina within the Ducati team is still in orbit around him, which never fails to bring him back to dry land.
So much so, that we no longer miss an opportunity to remind him that if the Ducati is a rocket, he should not change it into a surface-to-surface missile against his teammate. During the press conference, he did not hide that the event had not been trivial and that he took it very seriously. On GP One, He insists : " what happened must never happen again. I have already apologized to everyone who was affected by this situation ».
Dovi included? “ Yes, and he accepted my apology, he is a good person, I have always respected him and I know his mentality. I know he understood, he's also a pilot ". Really ? Response from the victim: “ We talked together and everyone has their own ideas on the subject. That said, no comment ". Which doesn't really feel like frank camaraderie rediscovered.
Whatever his performance at the end of the qualifications, Andrea IannonHe will have to leave three places on the starting grid. A sanction inflicted by the officials after his blunder, in addition to the point lost on his good driving license on the track. Last year, he finished fifth in the Grand Prix of the Americas, not without having clashed at the start with Scott Redding and Pol Espargaró… “ I need to stay calm and focused » insisted the fiery 26-year-old pilot. “ We are at a good level, we arrive on a route that suits our bike. I need to turn all this good work into results. ». Iannone has yet to score a single point this season.
