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The best sentence used to describe the Go Eleven team was said to us by Daniele Pavesi (Gianni Ramello's right-hand man) on Sunday morning in Portimao: "The Go Eleven team is a bit like Claudio Bisio in the film "Welcome to the South," which is that you cry twice: when you arrive and when you leave. At first you cry because you think you are coming to a team that is not as well structured as the others. The second time you cry is when you leave because it is like saying goodbye to a second family."
How can we blame our friend Daniele: confirmation of his thinking is given to us by riders like Loris Baz and Micahel Rinaldi, who last year did not hesitate to reintroduce themselves to Go Eleven after BMW and Aruba had dumped them. Then again, it is easy to understand because Go Eleven is a kind of extended family in Superbike, which a year ago this time decided to bet on the qualities of Andrea Iannone.
Now The Maniac's is the hot name in the Superbike market, whose future is yet to be written. About his 2025 Andrea was very clear in Portimao: "What I am looking for is a project. I come from the couch and to continue racing this has to make sense, since my goal is to fight for a World Championship. Should there not be this possibility it would become complex, because I won't be satisfied with fourth position or best Independent. I am a rider who has raced to fight with the big guys, someone who has always trained and dreams big. Today, at 35 years old, I am not going to settle for anything. Rather I'll stay at home, because if I'm not racing to win, what am I racing to do?"
Clear and transparent words from the 29, who had no qualms about saying he was willing to stop again. In this regard, we really can't see Iannone returning to the couch at home and, as the title of this article states, it's not really for him.
In this first part of the Championship we have gotten to know Andrea better and better and the thing that has impressed us most is his fighting spirit, that of someone who never gives up and does not know the word surrender. Someone who is able to throw his heart over the hurdle, fearless and obviously willing to take risks. In addition to that, Andrea allowed us to discover his decent and funny soul, that of a guy who does not skimp on jokes, perhaps undoing some preconceptions and clichés about his image.
Only Andrea, however, knows how many sacrifices and how much it cost him in economic terms and not only to come back to racing, but certainly the opportunity with Go Eleven made him realize one thing: despite the 4-year stop, The Maniac is still today a rider in his own right, capable of fighting for victories as in Australia and podiums.
Certainly, for someone like him, accustomed in the past to factory teams like Ducati, Suzuki or Aprilia, where he was surrounded by a myriad of engineers and technicians, it was not easy to accept and restart from the current dynamics, far removed from those experienced until a few years ago.
At the same time, it is also true, as he himself implied, that he is not at the center of the Ducati project, given the contract renewal offered to Alvaro Bautista.
So why should he continue, if not as a protagonist?
The first thing is that next year all the riders' contracts will expire and as a result the manufacturers will be called upon to intervene again in the market: from BMW to Yamaha via Honda and Bimota as well as Ducati itself, called upon to rediscuss Bulega's contract.
With an extra year of experience and his past at his disposal, Andrea could thus reclaim his place as one of the prized pieces of the market in 2026. Moreover, with Go Eleven, Andrea has already shown what level he has reached and we are of the opinion that in 2025 he can raise the bar even further. Also, seeing a satellite rider like him give the official teams a run for their money certainly increases the appeal.
Then again, these are the challenges that delight and excite the fans.
The fact remains that Go Eleven is ready to relaunch that bet made a year ago and that today can still be considered won. It may be true that a victory in Australia much-dreamed of and almost obtained did not arrive, but the relaunch of the #29 started from this small team from Cherasco captained by Gianni Ramello and his wife Luciana, together with their son Elia, who most of all wanted Andrea. And along with them, of course, team manager Denis Sacchetti.
In this year shared together, Go Eleven has grown and Iannone has made his own contribution to accelerating this process in a different position from the one we were used to seeing him in the past. Obviously in the Piedmont team Andrea will not be able to find that official team that he would like, but he knows that he can have something to fall back upon, that is, a group of people ready to do anything to support him and try to meet his demands by making him feel like in a family more than in a team.
Together this route has been mapped out and now all that remains is to continue along it toward a 2025 that will certainly not be a leap in the dark as perhaps it could have been last October. Knowing Andrea, who has a winner's mentality and at the same time considers himself a dreamer, we like to recall a famous phrase by Nelson Mandela: "A winner is a dreamer who never gives up." So, to give up now, after what has been accomplished, would be a great pity indeed.
