MotoGP: Iannone banned for 18 mts

(ANSA) - Rome, April 1 - Andrea Iannone has been handed an 18-month ban by the FIM, following positive tests for a prohibited substance during last November's Malaysian MotoGP.
    The ban starts from 17 December, when the positive urine test was announced, and runs until 16 June, 2021.
    That would mean the current Aprilia star is ruled out of the entire 2020 MotoGP season plus perhaps the opening eight races of next year.
    However, Iannone is expected to launch an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), especially since Aprilia claims Iannone's accidental consumption of steroids through food contamination was accepted by the FIM.
    Iannone has also been disqualified from last year's Sepang and Valencia rounds but didn't finish either race.
    "My innocence was recognized. It could have been a lot worse," said the 30-year-old rider from Vasto in Abruzzo.