SBK | Iannone: explosive debut, but he dampens the enthusiasm

Andrea Iannone's return was a success. After a four-year hiatus, “The Maniac” returned with excellent results, becoming one of the potential contenders to win the Superbike World Championship. Making his debut in the series derivatives at Phillip Island, the Goeleven team rider has already accumulated kilometers and reached the podium.

Iannone was also strong on his European debut in Barcelona, ​​missing out on victory in the Superpole Race by less than a tenth of a second. The rider from Vasto tries to keep expectations low and underlines that with his team Goeleven does not have the opportunities that his direct rivals have, who compete with official teams.

The weekend in Barcelona ended with an accident in Race 2: for Iannone, the crash was due to a lack of experience with Pirelli tyres. “We have to look at the big picture. The weekend was really positive for us,” he sums up.

Excellent results despite the lack of Superbike experience

“We have to realize that we are not a factory team. We always do our best and regularly fight against the factory riders. It's not easy,” observes the former MotoGP rider. “When you get close, it becomes increasingly difficult to find the final details. I don't have the experience that Toprak Razgatlioglu, Alvaro Bautista and Nicolò Bulega have with these tyres,” says Iannone.

“Everything is new for me”, underlines the Ducati rider, fifth in the general classification. In the two long races he suffered some tire management problems. “We had some ideas for the warm-up, but unfortunately it was wet and we couldn't test any changes,” he notes. The accident at turn 10 prevented him from obtaining another top 5 result: “I had some problems with the front. But I didn't expect the crash because I was braking in the same point as the previous lap.”

“It's not easy for me at all,” comments the Superbike rookie, who is currently the best independent rider in the championship and had a chance to win at both Phillip Island and Barcelona.

Andrea Iannone, Team Go Eleven

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Very close to the first Superbike victory

In the Superpole Race in Barcelona, ​​the Italian was beaten by the winner Toprak Razgatlioglu by just 75 thousandths. Iannone took advantage of the chaos of the final corner to overtake Alvaro Bautista, who entered the final corner in the lead and was caught by Razgatlioglu.

“Toprak was in a position where he could try. It was a normal overtaking maneuver. There was no contact. If you have a chance in the race, you try to overtake,” says Iannone, commenting on the BMW driver's maneuver. However, the Goeleven team rider doesn't want to say that he missed the victory by the narrowest of margins: “On TV it looked like I was close. But I wasn't close. But obviously I tried to catch Toprak.”

Iannone also among the favorites at Assen?

“In Barcelona we lacked something in the long races. We were competitive in the short race”, says Iannone. “At Phillip Island I was happy with third place in the first race, but then the problem with the tire for grip bothered me. We could have won. That's why I'm a bit annoyed.”

Will Iannone be among the first in Assen too? “I can't judge because it's been a long time since I raced in Assen,” he reflects. “It's been five years since I've been there. I haven't even been able to ride a superbike on this track. I'll try to enjoy every day and then we'll see.”