Andrea Iannone has been suspended and cannot race for 18 months. The Italian rider failed an anti-doping test at last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix having testes positive for an ‘Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroic’ which is called Drostanolone.

Aprilia rider and his entourage immediately claimed his innocence and submitted a hair sample tested by an anti-doping laboratory in Turin that demonstrated no trace of the steroid found in the other samples taken during anti-doping test. Iannone missed pre-season MotoGP test at Sepang and also Jerez’s one but believed to be absolved for the first race of the season in Qatar.

The cancellation of the opening round of 2020 MotoGP season ‘helped’ Andrea Iannone to have more time, as long as the judges did not give any verdict and the Italian rider’s hopes to fully compete the championship raised up. The Italian's lawyers asked for an absolution as long as the rider got contaminated facing an accusatino of 4-year ban.

In the last weeks, rumors told that Aprilia rider was going to be absolved, but on 1^st April the sentence has been released: Andrea Iannone cannot race for 18 months. The judgment recognized a food contamination, but believed that the Italian should have known the risks of being contaminated and still condemned him for that reason.

The next step for Andrea Iannone and his entourage will be an appeal to TAS, hoping to have better luck. Andrea’s crew said that this is the first ever case where a contaminated athlete has been condemned. Iannone’s career has never been in danger more than this.