Iannone back in MotoGP for first time since drugs ban

Italian rider Andrea Iannone will return to MotoGP at this week's Malaysia Grand Prix for the first time since serving a four-year ban for doping.

Iannone will race for Valentino Rossi-owned VR46 Racing Team, replacing Fabio di Giannantonio, who has returned to Rome for shoulder surgery.

"I'm honoured that they thought of me and I felt like I had to say yes to this opportunity immediately as soon as it was offered to me," Iannone said.

"The challenge is certainly crazy, complex and demanding, as I haven't ridden a bike in this category for years and without having done tests or similar."

Iannone, 35, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid at the Malaysia Grand Prix in 2019, resulting in an initial 18-month suspension, which the Italian appealed against.

The ban was then extended to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the suspension ending in December 2023.

In February 2024 he returned to racing, external in the Superbike World Championship, securing his maiden win in the series in September.

Iannone has maintained his innocence and said he tested positive because he ingested the banned substance accidentally through contaminated meat.