Andrea Iannone (born 9 August 1989) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP World Championship from 2013 to 2019, and was a race winner in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 cc World Championships.
Iannone is serving a four-year competition ban from 17 December 2019. He was initially given an 18-month ban by FIM and WADA which, after a failed appeal, was extended to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He has aspirations to return to racing in 2024, and has been contracted to race for satellite Ducati organisation Team GoEleven in World Superbikes.
After winning 4 races in 125 cc World Championship and finishing 7th overall in Iannone made the move to Moto2 World Championship in . A further 8 race wins and 3 consecutive third place finishes followed in Moto2. And then Iannone made the move up to MotoGP in 2013 with Pramac Racing on a satellite Ducati. After spending two seasons with Pramac, Iannone was moved up to the Factory Ducati Team in . In Iannone managed to get 3 podiums, a Pole Position and what proved to be his best ever championship position and points tally of 5th and 188. A further 4 podiums and a Pole Position followed in including a maiden MotoGP win in Austria. After the arrival of triple MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo to Ducati Iannone made the move to Suzuki for 2017. After a difficult first season without a podium Iannone managed to get further 4 podium finishes with Suzuki in .
Early life
Iannone was born in the Adriatic coastal town of Vasto, on 9 August 1989. His interest in bikes came at a very early age with mini motos. Iannone has one older brother.
Career
125cc World Championship
Born in Vasto, Province of Chieti, Iannone started his career on pocket bikes and soon became a championship front runner. He participated in both the Italian and Spanish championships before moving to World Championship in 2005. On 4 May 2008, Iannone claimed his first win at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, in wet conditions. Prior to the victory, he had never finished higher than ninth, at the Turkish and French Grands Prix in 2007, although he had previously qualified as high as seventh. In the 2009 125 cc season he won the first two races of the season, establishing himself as a championship contender, however he faded to seventh overall, with only one more win. During the race at Misano, Iannone provoked an accident with Pol Espargaró. After the incident, images showed the riders arguing in the gravel and Iannone headbutted Espargaró. This was heavily criticised by the media and lost Iannone some sponsorship; Iannone then apologised to Espargaró at the next race at Estoril.
Moto2 World Championship
In 2010, Iannone moved up to the new Moto2 series, his first time riding anything other than an Aprilia. After a slow start he took victories at Mugello and Assen – both from pole – making him the first rider to take two poles in the class, to move up to fourth overall in the standings. He was also competitive in Barcelona, but received a ride-through penalty for overtaking Yuki Takahashi under yellow flag conditions. He then went on to win again at Motorland Aragón, a track which was new to the MotoGP calendar in .
2011 proved to be a very up and down season for Iannone, with inconsistency being his major downfall. Whilst being the only other rider besides Stefan Bradl and Marc Márquez to win more than one race, he would often find himself qualifying well outside the top 10, but finished the season in third place after beating Alex de Angelis in the final race of the season in Valencia. On the Tuesday following the race, Iannone tested a MotoGP bike for Gresini Racing in Valencia.
Iannone remained in the class for the season, finishing second in the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, having led the race out of the final corner and losing out to the straight line speed of Marc Márquez's bike. He finished fourteenth, fifth and fourth over the next three races, before taking his first victory of the season in the Catalan Grand Prix. He went on to get another podium at Assen. After this, he won his home race at Mugello wearing the colours of a nearby fire station.
MotoGP World Championship
Pramac Racing (2013–2014)