Andrea Iannone has completed his first day back on a MotoGP bike as he is participating in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
After five years Andrea Iannone made his return to MotoGP on Friday at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Italian rider is replacing the injured Fabio di Giannantonio for the final two rounds of the 2024 season in the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.
Iannone had not ridden a MotoGP bike since his time with Aprilia in 2019 and had not touched a Ducati MotoGP machine since 2016. After one year of racing in World Superbikes after his ban 'The Maniac' was thrown into the deep end this weekend.
Despite his lack of recent experience, Iannone ended the morning Practice session in ninth place. However, he ended the afternoon Practice session in 21st after other riders completed their time attacks.
"In the first Practice, we started in the best way," Iannone said to MotoGP.com. "But we changed the tyres to understand the feeling with the race tyres. This afternoon we started with used tyres, but for sure many riders started with new ones, which made a big difference.
"I need to improve a lot, but the feeling was improving every lap and I am understanding more. But I am really happy, I came back to ride a MotoGP bike which is a dream. I want to say thanks to everybody in the garage, VR46 for this opportunity and the MotoGP family. It is a dream for me!"
'I expected much less change, the bike is another bike completely.'
It had been five years since Iannone last rode a MotoGP bike, but he was not expecting massive changes. However, the Italian discovered that a modern MotoGP bike is completely different from when he last raced in the Championship.
"No, I expected much less change," Iannone stated. "The bike is another bike completely in every area, it is unbelievable. But it is fantastic, I am really surprised with the performance of the bike, with everything.
"The aerodynamics are unbelievable. Unbelievable because you don't understand the limits. You enter corners faster every lap and the bike is turning better, it is like 'Where is the limit?'
"This is what is difficult, I am going step by step because I don't want a disaster which is important. But the limit is really high."
Despite his morning pace and his improvements in the afternoon Iannone is not confident enough to make any targets. But he is happy that he is only two seconds off of Francesco Bagnaia, as he knows it could have easily been more.
"It is too early to understand my targets," Iannone revealed. "This afternoon I improved by more than one second, but we are two seconds away from Pecco. Which is a lot, but in the end is not four seconds.
"In the end, we start tomorrow two seconds behind, I know it is possible to improve in many areas, especially in sector three. I have been losing a lot of time there, but we will see. This afternoon once I have finished everything I will focus with the guys in the garage to see the data, videos, everything to try and improve tomorrow."
