Andrea Iannone says the only limit he has on the Ducati GP23 “is me” after his first MotoGP race in five years, admitting he’s “not ready for this bike.”
The former Grand Prix winner delivered a solid performance during Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying, securing 17th on the grid, just 0.548 seconds off the top spot in Q1.
In his first MotoGP event since serving a four-year doping ban, Iannone finished second-to-last in the sprint, 13 seconds behind teammate Marco Bezzecchi.
Reflecting on his return since Valencia 2019, Iannone said, “Difficult. But MotoGP is like this, and you need to understand this situation. It’s after a long, long time. Five years, it’s completely changed. It’s another story.”
He mentioned that he’s starting to grasp how to extract speed from a modern MotoGP bike, yet his physical condition remains the biggest obstacle.
“Today I understood the limit,” he stated. “The more you push, the better the bike performs. The more charge you put on the bike, the more speed and grip you have. The package is really good, and the team works well. The limit is me; I’m not ready for this bike.”
When comparing MotoGP to World Superbikes, Iannone likened the latter to “a bicycle” in terms of physical demands. Looking ahead to the 20-lap grand prix on Sunday, he emphasized the importance of managing his strength over tire conservation.
“I need to manage my drop — not the tires,” he joked.
“The garage manages the tire drop, but I need to manage Andrea. I need to decide: do I make five laps like a king, or do I do 20 laps like nobody? This is the question”.
“I might start like qualifying, make five unbelievable laps, and then end up in the garage saying, ‘guys, the best five laps of my life.’ But the race finishes; it’s a sprint of sprints.”