Despite a solid defensive ride that placed fourth in Race 1 in Italy’s Worldsub, Andrea Iannone says he and his 11 Ducati teams “still have a lot to improve.”
Iannone’s fourth place in Race 1 at Cremona held back almost 10 bikes behind him thanks to solid defensive efforts of the majority of races.
Only Honda’s Iker Lecuona could make the move with the 11 Ducati riders, but the Spanish rider crashed shortly after moving to fourth, trying to hold back Remy Gardner and Xavi Vierge on the final lap of the race.
For the rider, who won the podium at the Super Pole Race in Cremona in 2024, his way of riding to fourth showed he felt that he had been a return to performances in 2025 and a 2024 debut world superbike season.
“At the end of yesterday, we didn’t have any feelings about the bike, especially with the front wheels, so that was a great result for us,” Iannone told Worldsbk.com after finishing fourth in Race 1.
“There’s still a lot to improve compared to last year,” he added.
“I don’t know what’s changed, but it’s completely worse now.
“We are still fighting with all races, but we lose our front lines in every corner, so it is impossible to do anything more.
“I tried a lot of different things during the race and hopefully it will improve tomorrow. I don’t think it’s possible to fix the issue completely, but in any case, I’ll try to improve it from today.”
More reflecting race one, Iannone added that even fourth place doesn’t match his expectations.
“It was difficult to hold the other riders behind me,” he said.
“It was a difficult race, it was a short track, but it felt long with the number of corners I had to compete.
“In the end, I think we got good results and got good points, but this is not a target for us. We need to improve. We need to change something.
“We made progress on the electronic side (on Saturday morning) but we need to make more progress.
“I want to get my bike back, and although it’s difficult to do this, I’m trying my best in the garage so I’ll try again tomorrow.
“The biggest thing we need to fix is the front of the bike. Certainly, the speed has been better than before, and now it’s difficult to manage speed at the angular side.”