Andrea Iannone will therefore return to competition in 2024, after four years of suspension due to doping. Given the delay, still being able to find himself in a World Championship, in this case the WSBK, and having always kept the sympathy of Ducati who showed him the way to the GoEleven satellite team for a good Panigale V4R, it's blessed bread. But his former manager Carlo Pernat swears that “Joe the Maniac” still has MotoGP in mind.
Before approaching this subject, no one is initially fooled by the interest in the return ofAndrea Iannone. The team Ducati GoEleven will receive a lot of attention just like the 2024 Superbike World Championship with this event and Denis Sacchetti, team director, makes no secret of it: “ Andrea is one of the few riders capable of attracting a large audience, like Valentino ", said Bags.
« The current SBK drivers are top-notch, but they are best known to fans. Andrea can help broaden the spectrum and perhaps attract new sponsors. This is an opportunity that we all must seize – us, the other teams, Dorna, the TV stations and all other media ».
« Andrea Iannone has the talent and the will, in any case, he will entertain us… »
And on the sports side? “ I think Andrea can achieve important results - he has the talent and the will. In any case, it will entertain us… He doesn't come back to make money, but to take back something that was taken from him. This is a different motivation than pilots who announced their retirement and came back later »
And what does the one who knows him perhaps better than everyone else think? Charles Pernat ? He responds on GP One : " I think Andrea has a great talent, one of the strongest talents there is. He is a protégé of Gigi Dall'Igna, who likes him very much ". Yes, but … " Four years is a long time, not too much, but a lot. Not so much on a physical level, but we lose our eye for overtaking And it's not easy ».
« It's clear that Andrea has been training and that he really wants to come back and in my opinion the bike is the right one. The team and the championship are also good because he's a character and he can only do good for Superbike, given that the media will talk a lot about him, especially at the beginning ". Then he specifies: “ it is clear that his goal is to return to MotoGP, but he was not able to do it right away. If he had a successful season and calmed down a little, in my opinion he could have his say and even play for victory ».
The notion of calming down a little is not trivial when it comes to the sulphurous Iannone. But Charles Pernat remains optimistic on the subject in view of the challenges encountered: “ I found him very serene and with a lot of desire. He's really vengeful, but his mentality has changed a little. I think he conformed and became more thoughtful, without all these ups and downs, even on a character level. It's not that he lost his talent with this, let's be clear, but in my opinion, this will be the key to his next year ».
