Andrea Iannone has declared his interest in joining the WorldSBK 2024 grid

"Being able to race in WorldSBK in 2024 would be very nice" – Andrea Iannone

Andrea Iannone, a MotoGP Grand Prix winner and charismatic competitor, has expressed interest in joining the WorldSBK grid in 2024.

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is rapidly progressing through its schedule, with each round delivering fresh on-track and off-track narratives. The latest bombshell is that four-season absence MotoGP Grand Prix winner Andrea Iannone has applied for a seat in 2024. Iannone hopes to return to racing after a four-season absence. Could 'The Maniac' be a WorldSBK paddock regular?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has sanctioned Iannone for violating an anti-doping rule, effective December 17, 2019. That implies that Iannone will be eligible to compete again on the same date in 2023. Before the ban, Iannone was a factory Aprilia rider in MotoGP, but his greatest success came aboard Ducati machinery, with a début podium in 2015 at Lusail and ending the manufacturer's win drought in 2016 at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, his only victory. In a span of two years, four podium finishes were achieved while using Suzuki machinery.

In the WorldSBK paddock at Misano, Iannone – who was spotted talking to his old MotoGP™ team boss Davide Tardozzi – gave his thoughts on the paddock: "The level of WorldSBK has grown a lot and I find it a very interesting Championship! The air is light in the paddock and I breathed a lot of passion and a lot of sport inside. Alvaro has always been a great World Champion.”

Continuing to talk about his former MotoGP™ rival, Iannone turned attention to the Bautista-Ducati combination and also the prospects of Iannone himself coming to the WorldSBK paddock, something he’s keen for: “I think that the form of Alvaro and Ducati is an incredible combination right now. It's true that I tried the road version of the Ducati Panigale V4 R at Misano and I really liked it. Being able to race in WorldSBK in 2024 would be very nice. We'll see!"

On the grid of Race 1, Iannone was interviewed, saying: “WorldSBK is really amazing, everybody is close and it’s exciting! It’s a really strong fight between Ducati and Yamaha. In any case, I look to the future. Maybe one day, it’s possible that I come back here!”