Italian rider Andrea Iannone will return to MotoGP this week at the Malaysian Grand Prix for the first time since serving a four-year ban for doping.

Iannone will race for the Valentino Rossi-owned VR46 Racing Team, replacing Fabio di Giannantonio, who is back in Rome for shoulder surgery.

“I’m honored that they thought of me and I felt like I had to say yes to this opportunity immediately as soon as it was offered to me,” Iannone said.

“The challenge is certainly crazy, complex and demanding, because I haven’t ridden a bike in this category for years and without having done any testing or the like.”

Iannone, 35, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid during the 2019 Malaysian Grand Prix, leading to an initial 18-month suspension, which the Italian is appealing.

The ban was later extended to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the suspension ending in December 2023.

In February 2024, it back to racing, external in the World Superbike Championship, taking his first victory in the series in September.

Iannone maintained his innocence and said he tested positive because he accidentally ingested the banned substance through contaminated meat.