MotoGP rider Iannone handed 18-month ban for failed dope test

Italian MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has been banned for 18 months after failing a dope test last November, the sport's governing body said on Wednesday.

The FIM said in a statement that the Aprilia rider had tested positive for the banned steroid Drostanolone at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The suspension will run until June 16, 2021.

Iannone, who had a contract to the end of this season, was also disqualified from the results of the races in Malaysia and Valencia.

The rider can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Iannone's positive test is the first official case of a doping offence in the grand prix paddock since 2012, when Moto2 rider Anthony West tested positive for methylhexanamine.