Andrea Iannone spotted riding a Ducati but teases “just a day with friends”

The ex-MotoGP rider is currently nearing the end of a four-year doping ban and would be eligible to compete in the 2024 season.

Iannone was spotted on a Panigale V4R, riding alongside Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro, at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit in Misano.

“I’m happy, I’m only doing a few laps,” he teased.

“It’s just a work-out. Today is just a day of fun with friends, that’s all.”

Last month, Iannone crashed during a test day at Vallelunga while riding an Aprilia RSV4. He went to hospital but escaped any significant injury.

Pirro said: “At Vallelunga he did not lap much. I phoned him to invite him here. He remembers very well how to do it…”

Iannone spent the first four years of his MotoGP career as a Ducati rider, with Pirro as his test rider, between 2013-16 before moving onto Suzuki and Aprilia.

The sight of Iannone on a red bike is another indicator that he is taking a potential return to competition seriously.

Avenues back into MotoGP look impossible for 2024 but World Superbikes remains an option.