One of the hottest MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship silly season topics will cool off, as Andrea Iannone agreed to stay with Team GoEleven for the 2025 campaign. Iannone’s first WorldSBK season was capped off with a victory at Aragon a few weeks ago, and he’ll return next year as he looks to add more wins and podiums to his tally following a stellar rookie campaign. It puts to bed any speculation about Iannone’s future, with the Italian committed to his Independent Ducati team for another season.
A DEBUT TO REMEMBER: Iannone straight on the rostrum
The 35-year-old made his WorldSBK debut in Australia and, despite four years with no racing, was immediately on the podium. Third in Race 1, while also leading the race, was an impressive start and he backed that up with second in the Tissot Superpole Race in Barcelona, getting the best seat in the house as Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) created one of the races of the season with a final corner showdown.
MIXED RESULTS: an up and down year for the rookie
It’s no surprise that Iannone’s results have been mixed, with inexperience of the Panigale V4 R, Pirelli tyres and some circuits mixed with his four years away creating the perfect storm for an inconsistent season. He took a best of fourth at Assen but was 15th in the Superpole Race, fifth in the Superpole Race at Misano but 11th in Race 2 and didn’t score a single-digit result at Donington Park. He returned to the podium in Race 1 at the Autodrom Most, before taking P4 at Portimao in Race 2.
THE END OF HIS ROOKIE CAMPAIGN: winner at Aragon, consistently in the top ten
As Iannone’s gained more experience, his consistency has improved. Fifth, 11th and 12th at Mangy-Cours was followed by a third and two retirements at Cremona but, since then, the #29 has been a consistent figure in the top ten. That all started with a famous win at Aragon, his first in eight years in all Championships, and GoEleven Ducati’s first since 2020 at the same venue. Two fourth-place finishes followed on Sunday before he took ninth twice and eighth at Estoril. Iannone is in a tight fight for P6 in the Championship. He currently sits seventh on 211 points, four behind Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in sixth and eight ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha).
BEFORE WORLD SUPERBIKE: a race winner in MotoGP™
Iannone made a name for himself in the 125cc World Championship, taking four wins and a best Championship finish of seventh in his final season. That earned him a spot in Moto2™ for 2010 and he spent three seasons in that category, finishing third in each one. Eight wins and 19 podiums was enough to secure him a spot in MotoGP™ with Pramac Ducati. He stayed there for two seasons before the switch to the factory Ducati team for 2015 and 2016, when the Italian became a race winner with victory in the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix. He then moved to Suzuki for two seasons before one year with Aprilia in MotoGP™. However, he was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following a violation of an anti-doping rule after a positive test for a banned substance in the following Malaysian GP, coming in from December 17th, 2019, which kept him away from competitive racing for four years.
IANNONE’S THOUGHTS ON HIS RENEWAL: “We will continue to work together to constantly improve…”
Discussing his new contract with Team GoEleven, Iannone said: “I am happy to continue this journey with the Pata GoEleven Team riding the Ducati Panigale V4 R. The first year in the WorldSBK Championship was full of surprises and satisfactions, we will continue to work together to constantly improve and reach new goals. I thank Gigi Dall’Igna, Claudio Domenicali, Paolo Ciabatti, Marco Zambenedetti, Mauro Grassilli and the whole Pata GoEleven Team for the renewed trust. A special thanks also to Remo Gobbi and the WorldSBK family.”
THE TEAM SAYS: “We are ready to fight for the important position in 2025!”
Team Owner, Gianni Ramello, added: “Keeping continuity to the project with Andrea Iannone, it means a lot to all our team, I was particularly keen on it because I am convinced that, with the experience gained in 2024, we could have a lot of data in each race and start with a solid base. We are following up on a choice made at the end of 2023, a choice outside the box, but which still proved to be a winning one, giving us great satisfaction and podiums. I also want to welcome Pata, who chose to believe in GoEleven and Andrea’s project, allowing us to make a further step forward, joining the support of all our partners and sponsors. I would like to thank all my collaborators, especially Elia, Denis and Luciana who have always supported me in this journey and Ducati which allows us to have a competitive and strong bike. A specific mention for Andrea, a rider and man with whom a special relationship was born, different from many others, I didn’t know him but after a few races he entered my heart, not only for the talent he showed, but also as a person. Knowing that we will go on together in 2025, it fills me with great enthusiasm, and we are ready to fight for the important positions in 2025!”
DENIS SACCHETTI’S VIEW: “I’m really excited to be able to keep working with Andrea in 2025…”
Team GoEleven’s Team Manager, Denis Sacchetti, stated: “I am really excited to be able to keep working with Andrea in 2025, I believe that he and the team have provided harmony and continuous growth, this is certified by the victory at Aragon, a dream come true with three rounds to go, which projects us to 2025 with very high motivation. After four years without racing and a championship, tyres, bike, brand new for Andrea, the results have been better than expected that’s why we are sure that we can aim for even more important results. Our project is further enhanced by a fantastic bike, the Ducati Panigale V4R, of which we will enjoy all the technological developments that Ducati will bring on tracks. I would like to thank Andrea Iannone, Mauro Grassilli, Marco Zambenedetti, Gigi Dall’Igna for the renewed trust in us and the Ramello family for the effort they are putting into the growth of Go Eleven.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com