One Ducati MotoGP winner’s surprising memory of his first victory

Former MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has offered a surprising memory about his maiden victory with Ducati at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.

The self-styled ‘Maniac’ of MotoGP competed in the premier class from 2013 through to the end of 2019, serving stints with Ducati, Suzuki and Aprilia.

Making his debut in 2013 with Pramac Ducati, Andrea Iannone was promoted to the Italian brand’s factory squad in 2015.

But by the mid-point of 2016, he had already been let go by Ducati, who had signed Jorge Lorenzo for the following year to partner Andrea Dovizioso.

Iannone took his sole victory in the premier class at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2016, ending a drought dating back to 2010 for Ducati.

In an interview with GPOne Iannone offered a surprising overarching memory of that day.

“I remember that time, I had sex all night before the race,” he said.

“I went to bed at five in the morning, I woke up, went to the circuit, set the fastest time in the warm-up and then won the race.”

Iannone’s career slowly declined following his departure from Ducati at the end of the 2016 season.

His first season with Suzuki proved difficult, as he selected the wrong engine development for the Japanese brand to seal for the season.

Suzuki’s results were such that it regained the concessions it had lost in 2017 for 2018, with Iannone departing for Aprilia in 2019.

Iannone was thrown out of the final two rounds of the 2019 season after failing a doping test during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

He was hit with a retroactive four-year ban after losing an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020.

This episode proved costly for Aprilia, who stuck by Iannone during this process, but was then left unable to sign a top talent as a replacement for 2021.

After Iannone’s ban expired, he took up a ride in World Superbikes, and competed in one final MotoGP round as a replacement rider for VR46 Ducati at the 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix.