MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone ‘totally relaxed’ after failing drugs test

Italian has been provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Italian MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone failed a drugs test at the Malaysian Grand Prix (Reuters)

MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, the FIM has announced.

The Italian returned a urine sample during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend on 3 November that contained an "adverse analytical finding of a non-specified substance under Section 1.1.a) Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids."

The suspension throws Iannone’s MotoGP future into major doubt, with his Aprillia contract not due to expire until the end of the 2020 season, though Iannone does have the right to have his ‘B sample’ tested and can be present when the test takes place.

In a statement issued on his Instagram page, Iannone indicated that he will look to have his ‘B sample’ tested and is “totally relaxed” over the situation, with the former Ducati factory rider confident that the test will prove negative and suspension lifted.

"I'm totally relaxed, and I want to reassure my fans and Aprilia Racing," Iannone said. "I am open to any counter analysis in a matter that surprises me, also because - at the moment - I have not received any official communication.

"Over the years, and also this season, I have undergone continuous checks, obviously always proving to be negative, which is why I have every confidence in the positive conclusion of this affair."

The FIM’s rules state that any public disclosure of a rider’s failed drugs test will only be made once the individual has been notified, though Iannone insists that he has not been officially contacted.

Iannone joined Aprillia at the start of last year, but he struggled to match teammate Aleix Espargaro for the majority of the 2019 season.

He finished with 43 points to Espargaro's 63, and his best finish was sixth place at the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Iannone's positive test marks the first official case of a potential doping offence in the grand prix paddock since 2012, when Moto2 rider Anthony West tested positive for methylhexanamine. West had his Moto2 results over an 18-month period voided retrospectively.

Additional reporting by Reuters