Andrea Iannone calls ‘comeback really special, I’ll never forget this moment’

Andrea Iannone was one of the stars of the season-opener in Australia as he claimed P3 in his first race, and following a good two-day WorldSBK test in Barcelona last week, chances of another repeat result this weekend appear to be high.

Iannone concluded the test in fourth spot behind Nicolo Bulega who set an unofficial lap record, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Danilo Petrucci. 

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Tyre wear is king in Catalunya but so is top speed, areas Ducati has shown to be strong at in previous seasons.

So Iannone should be in contention for more podiums at a circuit he knows well thanks to his time in MotoGP.

Iannone’s return to racing has been very impressive and the Italian gelled with the Panigale V4 R the moment he jumped aboard it in Jerez last year.

Talking to WorldSBK.com about his initial impression, Iannone said: “At Jerez in October, when I tried the bike, I was immediately fast. We finished the first test in fifth place with a lap time that wasn’t bad.

“The feeling with the bike was immediately good. In any case, I think I need more kilometres. We need to work a lot.

“We understand everything a little bit better, especially the bike and tyres. For the tyres, everything changed because the tyres are different compared to MotoGP tyres.

“I think we worked well during pre-season and it’s important we have support from Ducati.”

Discussing his result at the opening round, Iannone was more surprised than anyone but admitted it made his comeback feel ‘special’.

“I didn’t expect this result,” began Iannone. “When you achieve one podium, it’s a really great result.

“It’s a really special comeback for me and I’ll never forget this moment and this weekend. After a long time, I lived a beautiful moment one more time.

“I fought with the best riders in WorldSBK, in my first weekend and first race. What happens now?

“I’m in front, I’m first, I led the race. It’s incredible. I’m really happy, it’s beautiful. I won’t forget this first weekend.”