Andrea Iannone names key highlight of his comeback season

Andrea Iannone returned to racing after over four years away in 2024, with one clear highlight in his comeback season.

Iannone made his WorldSBK debut with the Go Eleven Ducati team, one which hadn’t won since Michael Ruben Rinaldi triumphed at Aragon in 2020, but was on the podium in his first race at Phillip Island.

The Italian’s season ebbed and flowed throughout as he got to grips with new circuits an the Panigale V4 R, but in Aragon he managed to put the pieces together and take the opportunity to secure his first win in WorldSBK, and his first of any kind since he won the 2016 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix.

“It was fantastic, because in the beginning of the season, yes I started well, but in any case I didn’t imagine that I can win during the first year,” Iannone told WorldSBK.com.

Iannone’s victory was built on strategy, the Italian understanding that managing tyre drop, especially on the front tyre, would be crucial to achieving a good result.

“I wanted to decide the pace of the race, because I had my strategy,” he said.

“I know it’s important that I manage well the first eight-to-10 laps, then at the end if it’s possible I start to push a little bit, but step-by-step, not immediately, because I knew the drop of the tyres was incredible, especially the front. We tried to improve this, but it’s difficult.”

Ultimately, Iannone came out on top, edging away from the pack in the closing stages of the race to win with a margin of 0.845 seconds over Toprak Razgatlioglu.

“We won, and it was really an incredible result, it was fantastic,” he said.

“It was a big one for everybody, because for Go Eleven this year was a big challenge, also for me after a long time.

“I think that I dream, I imagine, I want everything coming good, but it’s not sure because especially during the race never say never.

“I think it’s not possible to ask more for this year.”