Ducati issue an ominous assessment of Andrea Iannone’s first WorldSBK test

The ex-MotoGP rider’s four-year ban for doping will expire at the end of this year, and he will return in WorldSBK in 2024 representing GoEleven Ducati.

Despite his lengthy absence, the Italian impressed by going fifth-fastest and clocking 1’39.335s.

Team manager Denis Sacchetti reacted: “We are really happy with Andrea, with the test, with the team, everything.

“The result is completely unexpected. Really fast…

“It is fantastic to see him with a smile after many years without riding a race bike.

“To be so fast, so determined…

“He has sent a really strong message to his opponents, to the whole motorsport world.

“He was really, really fast. The riders here are from a race weekend, they finished the championship.

“He’s at the top of his performance. For the first time in four years at this track… incredible.

“The lap time is incredible. Soft tyres, even with hard tyres…

“What is important is the feeling with the bike. He was happy with the bike. It was easy.

“It was a good feeling, and a good emotion for everyone in the whole team.”

Sacchetti was questioned on how far Iannone can realistically go next season.

“It’s difficult to say now because it is early to say something,” he said with a knowing smile.

“I think today we can say ‘he is there’.

“He can be really competitive from the beginning.

“One lap is different to 20 laps consecutively. Today he was tired after 70 laps.

“We are positive for the season, really positive. We will enjoy this moment.”

Iannone’s long absence from competitive racing means he lacks recent experience in the box, a possible challenge for the team around him.

“It was difficult in the beginning to have a programme of what to do,” Sacchetti said.

“Never in history has a rider, after four years out…

“So it was difficult to have a programme or to know what to do.

“He knows well, what he needs, what he has to do, what he wants.

“Andrea has helped the team to understand the way to work with him.

“The support from Ducati is pretty good. We thank everyone.”

Iannone, in his first-two days wearing GoEleven leathers, shocked everybody inside his garage and around the paddock with his speed.

“We started this morning just ro ride, to understand the economy of the bike, then step-by-step to improve his feeling,” Sacchetti said.

“We didn’t touch the bike. The work was just from him, to understand the bike and the tyres.”