The many transfers
In recent weeks, the Superbikes generated great interest not only for the usual show offered by the riders on the track, but also for the numerous news that came from the paddock regarding the future of some of these: from the renewal of Alvaro Bautista’s contract in Ducati to the decision of Toprak Razgatlioglu to end his relationship with Yamaha at the end of the season, to then announce his signing with BMW for 2024. All this without forgetting other news such as the return of Tito Rabat to Kawasaki Puccetti to replace Tom Sykes, who in turn passed in BMW to replace the injured Michael Van der Mark.
Iannone’s interest
In short, the Superbike is really increasing its popularity even off the track, so much so that for the 2024 the hypothesis of the return of a driver who hasn’t competed for four years has arisen: Andrew Iannone. At the end of 2019, the former Ducati rider in MotoGP he had been disqualified for four seasons following a positive result in the anti-doping control, which is why the winner of the 2016 Austrian GP was barred from competition by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Interesting league”
Consequently, next year Iannone will finally have all the credentials to be able to compete again, and his return to the saddle could take place not in MotoGP, but in Superbike. It was right to admit it ‘The Maniac’ on the last weekend at Misano Adriatico, even more so after a conversation in the paddock with his former Ducati Team Principal Andrea Tardozzi: “The level of the Superbike has grown a lot and I find it a very interesting championship – he commented to the microphones of worldsbk. com – in the paddock you can breathe a light air, lots of passion and lots of sport. Alvaro has always been a great World Champion, and I think his form and that of the Ducati are an incredible combination right now. It’s true that I tested the street version of the Ducati Panigale V4 R at Misano, and I liked it a lot”.
Possible return?
Outside of the general considerations on the championship, Iannone added unequivocal words about his future projects: “Being able to race in WorldSBK in 2024 would be very nice, we’ll see. WorldSBK is really fantastic – he added – everyone is close and it’s exciting. The fight between Ducati and Yamaha is really close. In any case, I look to the future. Maybe one day it is possible that I will come back here“. Should Iannone actually reach an agreement with a team for the 2024 season, the 33-year-old, who boasts a total of 11 podiums in MotoGP including one victory, would thus make his absolute debut in Superbike.
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