‘F***K Andrea’ -Valentino Rossi’s awkward phone with Lannone for his MotoGP return

AndreaLannone will ride for the VR46 Racing team as a replacement rider for Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Italian rider was banned from premier-class bike racing after being found using a banned substance by the World Anti-doping Agency. The 35-year-old Italian was brought in as the replacement rider for Giannantonio by none other than The great Valentino Rossi himself. The Italian rider was a good friend of the VR 46 team owner Valentino Rossi. He offered Lannone the MotoGP ride at the Malaysian Grand prix.

The Awkward Phone Call with VR

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Talking about the awkward phone call with Rossi, Lannone said “I was on a flight, so my phone was off. When I arrived in Jerez I put on my phone and saw a message from Vale. He was saying ‘ F**k you! Andrea I have called you but your phone is off, When you see the message call back please.”

After calling Rossi back the former world champion said “Do you want to ride our bike for the last two rounds because  Di Gi is having surgery?.” After the Phone Lannone didn't even think for a second and accepted the offer immediately as he felt it would be a beautiful story at the end.

The Italian rider was absent from MotoGP for five years and after his Ban was lifted earlier this year he started his racing career back with the Superbike championship in 2024. His last race was at the 2019 Australian Grand prix. He will get to ride the new generation MotoGP bikes at this year's Malaysian and Valencia Grand prix.

At the same time, Lannone was feeling very emotional after returning to MotoGP after many years. He added “Everything is strange but really good. I do not have a lot of words because I am full of emotions. I am really happy to be here, I have seen many, many people. I am emotional because tomorrow I try the bike, one more time, and it is strange because I think the bike has changed a lot. But I am curious. The MotoGP calendar has 2 races remaining and the championship fight is still on between Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin. The Malaysian GP is a key race for the championship win of both riders.