Ducati Corse’s Andrea Iannone ended his final race with the Italian manufacturer on the podium, after a determined ride saw him cross the line in third.
Iannone has endured a massively difficult back-end of the 2016 season. A T3 vertebra fracture, sustained in a fast crash during practice at Misano, completely derailed his year, forcing him out of four Grand Prix. A crash in Malaysia two weeks ago, coupled with his DNF in Great Britain, meant that he hadn’t actually scored a point since the Czech Grand Prix in August.
Keen to bow out at Ducati gracefully, Iannone gritted his teeth and rode a brilliant race. Starting from seventh on the grid, the Italian absolutely nailed his start and was up to second at the first corner.
Despite riding in considerable pain from his back injury, Iannone locked horns with Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Honda’s Marc Marquez for the entire 30 laps. Though unable to hold off the Spaniard in the latter stages, Iannone regrouped in the closing laps to resume battle with Rossi.
The two Italians rubbed fairings on several occasions over the final eight laps, culminating in a daring move from Iannone at Turn 12 on the penultimate tour. With Rossi running wide, Iannone found himself with a nice half a second buffer to see him across the line with in third.
This result marks Iannone’s first podium appearance since winning the Austrian Grand Prix and sees him move up to ninth in the standings. After four years in the Ducati fold, the Italian will move to Suzuki for the 2017 season. And though disappointed to have not been the one retained by the Bologna squad, Iannone is incredibly grateful for the opportunity Ducati gave him and says that there will always be a special place in his heart for the team.
“Today it was a great race. I got a really good start and then had an incredible battle with Marquez and Rossi: I feel sure that everyone watching today, either in the circuit or at home on TV, must have enjoyed it a lot, said Iannone.
“I’m pleased because, even though the final part of the championship didn’t go exactly the way I had planned, in my last race for the Ducati Team I was able to get onto the podium, despite a rather difficult situation to manage.
“Even though after four years unfortunately we go our separate ways, I want to thank Ducati, to whom I have always given 100% and from whom I have always received the maximum of support, and all its engineers, mechanics, team personnel, fans and Ducatisti. I will never forget this great big family, and part of my heart will forever remain in Ducati.”
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