MotoGP | Andrea Iannone Issued 18-Month Suspension
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On Wednesday it was announced that the FIM International Disciplinary Court had issued MotoGP racer Andrea Iannone an 18-month suspension from competition due to a positive finding of a prohibited substance. The sample provided by Iannone, an Italian racer with the Aprilia factory team, at the Grand Prix in Malaysia tested positive for Drostanolone metabolite 2α-methyl-5α-androstane-3α-ol-17-one, a prohibited substance under heading “S1. Anabolic Agents, 1. Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS), a. Exogenous AAS” of the FIM Anti-doping Code, a signatory to the WADA Code.
Iannone was made aware of the finding and was provisionally suspended in mid-December, then immediately communicated to the FIM that the substance was ingested involuntarily through a contaminated food during. The FIM acknowledged Iannone’s defense, which was similar to Christian Craig and Broc Tickle’s stances in their similar matters with the global officiating body, and took the matter to International Disciplinary Court in early February. The CDI discussed the matter on February 4 and suspended the case on February 28, pending additional and final submissions that were to be brought by Iannone and the FIM. After a month of waiting, the final decision was announced on March 31 and confirmed that Iannone would face an 18-month suspension from competition, backdated to the time he was notified in December and to run until June 2021.
Both Iannone’s A and B samples tested positive for the substance and per The Race, he even asked for a further test of a hair sample to show that it was a one-time mistake, not something of repeated use.
Iannone will reportedly appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which is what Craig appealed to and successful had his sentence shortened, in an attempt for the same outcome.
Why bring up Iannone’s matter on a motocross-centric site? A few reasons, really…
Iannone’s sentence of 18-months is in line with what Stewart, Clason, Tickle, and Craig faced from their cases for a failed WADA test.
The timeline of Iannone’s test to punishment announcement starts in November and ends in April…
11/3/19 – Iannone’s sample is collected at the Grand Prix in Malaysia
12/17/19 – The FIM announced Iannone’s positive test result and provisionally suspended him from all competition, which included disqualification from the final two races of 2019
2/4/20 – Iannone’s trial in the FIM International Disciplinary Court is held
2/28/20 – Iannone’s case in the FIM International Disciplinary Court is suspended to allow for final submissions
3/31/30 – Iannone is issued an 18-month suspension from the competition by the FIM, but will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
This is not a rulebook or punishment created by the FIM. The substances and sentencing are all directed by the WADA Code, which the FIM adheres to as part of their agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Iannone’s matter was brought up during an interview-press release with FIM President Jorge Viegas conducted by Swiss journalist Jean-Claude Schertenleib, to which Viegas stated that he will soon have a meeting with WADA President Witold Banka “to see if it would be possible to have a list more suited to our sport,” meaning all of motorcycling. Should Viegas and Banka come to an agreement on this matter, it would change the standard for all future positive/failed tests in every series of professional motorcycle racing that is a signatory of the WADA Code in some way (SX, MX, MXGP, MotoGP, Superbike, etc).
