The doping storm, disqualification and rebirth. This is how we could (very) briefly summarize the last four years of Andrea Iannone, forced to be a spectator at the races when he would have wanted to be a protagonist. But 2024 will be the year of the relaunch: the rider from Vasto starts again from Superbike and does so racing with the Goeleven team, which made the agreement official today.
The return to racing in the production derivatives with the Ducati satellite team was now an open secret, but with today’s official announcement everything is now black and white. Andrea Iannone will thus return to racing after the four-year disqualification for doping and will do so riding the Panigale V4R of the Goeleven team, which lets Philipp Oettl go after two seasons. The agreement between the team and the Italian is only for one year, but it will be important above all for Iannone to test himself again and finally get back to the taste of racing.
It remains to be seen whether Andrea will already be able to take to the track in the end-of-season tests scheduled in Jerez de la Frontera at the end of the month, after the last round of 2023. In any case, 2024 will be a year that the Abruzzo native will hardly forget and he is already impatient to put on his suit and helmet to get back into action: “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, I’m finally back on the track, where I spent my life. I thank Gigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti, Claudio Domenicali, Marco Zambenedetti and all the Go Eleven team for their trust, with their support I have rediscovered the enthusiasm I had as a child. Special thanks also to the WorldSBK family for the opportunity. I’m excited.”
There is also a lot of enthusiasm from the Goeleven team, who speaks through Gianni Ramello, owner of the team: “A rider like Andrea has not only shown over the years that he is fast, and really talented, but he is also certainly a public figure for sure interest. The challenge is even more stimulating because we jumped at the chance of having Iannone return to a World Championship after 4 years of hiatus and I can guarantee that we will work hard to get to the positions that count, we strongly want to demonstrate that we have made this decision because we believe in potential of the driver, and we are sure that he will give his all to achieve great results. I can’t help but congratulate Andrea for having chosen our Team, giving us great importance and demonstrating that the excellent work is highly appreciated, and also because he has shown the courage to face this new challenge which is not at all simple”.
“Since its inception, GoEleven has tried to achieve increasingly important objectives and with the move to Ducati we have come closer to our desire. Despite being a private team we achieved a victory, several podiums, we won a Team Independent world championship, we gave world-famous riders the opportunity to defend our colors with excellent results demonstrating that our Team has done a great job and above all he did it well. Now we found ourselves having to take a further step and achieve another goal, a new challenge and this time it will be more intriguing and certainly difficult. I thank all the Ducati management who gave us strong motivation to start this project and I thank my Team who has always shared our projects for better or for worse driven by motivations that excite me, all of them want to win as I do and this added the certain desire that Andrea will also have will be a further boost for the 2024 season”, continues Ramello.
Denis Sacchetti, Goeleven team manager, echoes this: “We have worked hard to make this dream a reality, we have wanted to shout it out to the world for some time now, but creating such an important project is not trivial and must be structured carefully. The Maniac has decided to get back into the game, it’s not for everyone, it takes guts after everything that has happened and so much time away from racing. It is a courageous choice, for some it may seem crazy, but the right amount of madness and courage can lead to great deeds. Why this bet? When we started talking to him we were impressed by his determination, grit and desire to go back to doing what he loves, I saw in his eyes the desire and need to race a motorbike, like a child who wants to go back to playing and everything that happens around him is canceled out because he just wants to go back to playing, he has no other thoughts at that moment.”
“We know that it won’t be easy, that at the beginning we will have to suffer and work a lot and hard, but this awareness unites us even more and stimulates us further. I want to thank Gianni Ramello for having laid the foundations for this opportunity, a particular thank you also goes to Paolo Ciabatti, Gigi Dall’Igna, Claudio Domenicali and Marco Zambenedetti for the support they are giving to this project and obviously thanks to Andrea Iannone for the trust placed in our team! Last but not least, heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors who allow us to take on increasingly important challenges every day, it is only thanks to their passion that it is possible to face new adventures”, concludes Sacchetti.
There are also words from Ducati, who comments on the news with Marco Zambenedetti: “I am happy that Andrea is returning to be part of Ducati. He is a talented rider who certainly still has a lot to give to this sport. Certainly after such a long stop period it will be important to give himself all the time necessary to return to being one with the bike, he will have an experienced team with the V4R at his side who will support him as best as possible this season. I can’t wait to see him around the track with all the other riders.”
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