Iannone set to end MotoGP hiatus after doping ban with VR46 cameo in Malaysia

Andrea Iannone to sub for VR46 man in Malaysia on the 1-3 November; Michele Pirro to take over at Valencia

Andrea Iannone will make a surprise MotoGP comeback replacing the injured Fabio di Giannantonio at the VR46 Ducati team for the penultimate grand prix of the 2024 season in Malaysia early next month.

As reported by GPOne, the one-time grand prix winner has received the nod from Valentino Rossi for Sepang, with the agreement of Ducati’s Gigi Dall’Igna. The Italian, who last raced in MotoGP in 2019 before a drugs ban, will head into the Malaysian round without any preparatory test.

GPOne also reported that Ducati test rider Michele Pirro will get the substitute role at the Valencia finale on the 15-17 November.

Di Giannantonio announced on Thursday that he would skip the grands prix in Malaysia and Valencia in order to undergo surgery.  

This news puts paid to rumours that Ducati’s WorldSBK rider Nicolo Bugela or Ducati’s satellite SBK rider Danilo Petrucci would step into the breach at VR46. 

Iannone raced seven seasons in MotoGP, including four with Ducati between 2013 and 2016, taking his only victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in that final year. After leaving the Bologna factory he raced two years with Suzuki before signing for Aprilia in 2019.

That season, at the Malaysian GP in fact, Iannone failed a doping test, which led to a four-year ban that could have spelled the end of his top-level motorcycle career. 

Having served the ban, however, he returned to WorldSBK this season with Ducati’s Go Eleven team. He took his first victory at Aragon a few weeks ago and has announced that he will remain for 2025.

The final round of the WorldSBK season takes place at Jerez this weekend. Iannone heads into the finale sitting seventh in the championship.

Di Giannantonio’s decision to undergo surgery two races before the end of the season allows the MotoGP race winner to have work done on the shoulder he injured in an accident at the Austrian GP in August. 

Missing the final two rounds means he should return to full fitness for the start of the 2025 season, where he will remain with VR46 but benefit from an upgrade and ride a factory GP25 Ducati.