Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) did well to manage Race 1 at Cremona, earning P4 and Top Independent rider. While this season has gotten off to a slower start than expected for the Italian rider entering his second season in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, his result here was important to get him back in the podium hunt like he set out to do in the preseason. With this P4, it is his first time back in the top five positions since his P3 at Race 2 in Australia.

“It was a great result for us because at the end of yesterday we had no feeling on the bike” – Iannone pleased with the positive steps he and his team are making

Iannone’s experience as a rider was on full display on Saturday at Race 1, he managed the pack of riders behind him well as he shot around the circuit, holding off attacks from riders like Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) and his teammate Xavi Vierge. While he lacked the pace to keep up with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) as we saw from him at times last season, he did well to secure a strong P4 to take good points from Cremona’s Race 1.

On his Race 1, Iannone said, “It was a great result for us because at the end of yesterday we had no feeling on the bike, especially with the front wheel, also. Compared to last year, we still have a lot to improve, I don’t know what has changed, but it is completely worse now. We still fight in every race, but it is impossible for me to do more than this because I lose the front in every corner. I tried lots of different things during the race, but I hope things improve tomorrow, I don’t think it will be possible to completely fix the issue, but in any case, I will try to improve from today.”

“We achieved a good result, taking good points, but this result is not on-target for us” - Iannone proud but hungry for more after P4 in Race 1

While this season so far, he has two podiums, on pace with how many he had last season by this point, Iannone has fewer points than he did by this point last season. While his season many not have gotten off to the start he wanted, he will hope that these positive results continue, and considering his 2024 Tissot Superpole Race P3 from last year, that just might be on the cards for Sunday at Cremona.

“It was difficult to hold the other riders behind me, it was a difficult race, and while it is a short track, it felt long with how many corners I had to fight in. At the end, I think we achieved a good result, taking good points, but this result is not on-target for us. We need to improve; we need to change something. This morning, we made a step forward in the electronic side, but we need to make more progress. I want my bike back, it’s difficult for us to do this, but in the garage, we are trying out best and we will try again tomorrow. The biggest thing we need to fix is the front of the bike for sure, the speed was better before, and now it is difficult to manage speed in the corner.” Said Iannone

Tune in and see if Iannone can continue to piece positive results together tomorrow live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass!