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Australia 2019. Andrea Iannone riding the Aprilia crosses the finish line in sixth position. He doesn't know it yet, but that for a long time will be his last race. Having re-entered SBK competition this year, he will have a chance to shape up again in his beloved MotoGP at Sepang in the upcoming weekend. A return to his roots that came as a surprise.
"I feel a lot of emotions. I honestly did not expect so much affection from the paddock. I am happy to be here and very grateful. The goal for the weekend? I have no idea. I think it's important to have fun. It's been a long time since I've ridden a MotoGP bike and the bikes have changed a lot, but never say never. Will I come back to compete here? No, I think there is no chance," were his words.
Speaking about the moment he learned of the chance to take the place of Di Giannantonio, who is absent in Malaysia because of shoulder surgery, he revealed, "I was going to Jerez for the last round of SBK. When I landed I saw Rossi's message telling me that he had tried to contact me and had something important to communicate. I called him back and he told me he had thought of me to replace Fabio and I immediately agreed."
He was inevitably asked for a prediction about the title fight: "The one who wins will not be the fastest, but whoever makes the least mistakes. That will be the key."
In the past there have been other riders who came back after a long break and won. "Troy was incredible. Now everything is different. Yesterday all the buttons were explained to me a little bit. I'm excited to go and discover such a different bike, if I'm not too old. Nice meanwhile to have the opportunity and be here. I thank Valentino and the VR46 team because without them I wouldn't have tried a MotoGP anymore. The money? I lost so much that it's OK without it. Passion always wins over money. What do I remember about the last period in MotoGP? I have a year in SBK behind me where the bikes are at the top, everything is very good and I had fun. Eventually the past is in the past. I had planned the next five years and did five totally different ones, so I prefer to live for the day and enjoy what comes along."
MotoGP continues to have a special place in his heart. "It's been my whole life. I came here when I was 15 years old, I already felt big, but I was tiny. It's impressive to be here with so many people I grew up with," he asserted, "Now I'm older. What did I import from what happened to me? Never say never and that in a moment everything can change. I realized that one should not stop smiling and that I should feel lucky because I never lost my energy and will to live. Around me I had so many people who supported me."
Finally, when asked if participating in World Ducati Week had helped, he said, "No, I have always been convinced that I am still going strong on a motorcycle, besides, one thing is a road bike and another is a racing bike. You have to be able to take the bike to the limit. Whether I will be able to do that I will know on Sunday, but I think it will be hard. Bautista to do a wild card last year did at least five tests and still struggled."
