Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) admitted that it was a tough start to this weekend at the Czech Round, and he had to work hard with his team to battle back in Superpole and Race 1. The Italian finished Saturday on the podium, finishing third position after a great battle with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) at the end of Race 1.

After finishing FP1 in 15^th, Iannone would make a step to finish FP2 at the end of Friday, finishing in 10^th position –0.907s adrift from Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at the top of the timesheets. Then on Saturday, the #29’s results would improve, entering the top three, ending FP3 in second position. This added to the Italian’s momentum ahead of Superpole, where the Italian would also finish in second – earning a spot on the front row.

In Race 1, Iannone would have a great launch off the line, maintaining second position in the opening stages before beginning an intense battle with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Petrucci. The Italian briefly dropped to P4 before regaining third position – finishing on the podium. It was a breathtaking finish with just 0.141s separating Petrucci and Iannone at the line.

Discussing the story of his weekend so far, Iannone said: “I’m really happy about today because we recovered a lot from yesterday. After FP1, we were 14^th or 15^th in the classification, so the work we did as a team was unbelievable. I think we have a good chance. It was a really difficult race because the temperature was high but, in any case, I never gave up, I did my best and tomorrow we will try a little bit more.”

Iannone spent the majority of Race 1 lapping inside the 1’32 bracket while battling with Petrucci and Bulega. The #29’s best lap came on Lap 4, setting a strong 1’32.194 in an attempt to match Razgatlioglu in the lead.

Crossing the line in third, it was Iannone’s third podium in WorldSBK and his first since the Pirelli Catalunya Round in March. Adding to his success on Saturday, it was also the Italian’s first time racing at the technical and tricky Autodrom Most. The podium also comes at an important stage of the season, with Iannone yet to announce his plans for the 2025 season.

On Saturday, Iannone added that the team made a step forward with his bike setup: “We changed the setup a little bit but not completely different. We tried to do a little bit and made a little step forward. It’s not always easy to improve the bike. It’s my first year, my first time here, so I’m happy after four years, of watching on TV. The atmosphere in the team is magic. We’ll try to improve and I also hope Ducati recovers the gap and fights for victory.”

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