Andrea Iannone revels in Jonathan Rea Aragon WorldSBK battle: “He made a step”

Aragon WorldSBK Race 2 saw the unfamiliar battle of Andrea Iannone and Jonathan Rea, one the Italian clearly enjoyed.

Iannone had been outside of battle for the top positions since he was on the podium at Phillip Island in February, but was back on better form at Aragon, the circuit he took his first World Superbike win at in 2024.

The Go Eleven Ducati rider was able to take two fourth places on Sunday, his best results since he was fourth at Cremona in April.

The second of those Aragon fourths came after a battle with Jonathan Rea in the second half of the race, not a rider the former MotoGP race winner has had too much experience of riding with or battling against.

“[The Superpole Race] was a really fun race, was unbelievable, we are everybody really close,” Andrea Iannone told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Aragon.

“But this afternoon the situation changed a lot.

“I fight a lot with Johnny [Jonathan Rea]. Johnny this afternoon rode really well, I think he made a really good step forward with the bike and also his riding style is really funny to see from behind. 

“In any case, I think fourth place for us, after a really long time, is a good result. We hope to continue like this in the last two races of the championship.”

“Not worried for the future”

Iannone’s future beyond 2025 remains uncertain for now but after a positive weekend in Aragon the Italian says he is “not worried for the future”.

“I have really clear what this year doesn’t work like we want or in the correct way,” he said.

“I’m worried because we lose one year.

“But I’m not worried for the future in case we continue. 

“In any case, we hope we are in World Superbike next year and we hope it’s a better season than this.”