VR46 team director Alessio Salucci has confirmed that Andrea Iannone is a candidate to replace Fabio di Giannantonio for the final rounds of the MotoGP season.

However, Salucci insists the Italian i♉s among ‘three or four riders’ being considered for the stand-in rides at Sepang and Valencia, with a final decision expected early next week.

“We have three or four names on the table,” Salucci told Dorna’s Jack Appleyar🔜d at Phillip Island.

“Me, Pablo [Nieto] and Vale have started to think and will make a decision after Monday, because now we want to stay focuse꧅d on this 𝔍weekend.”

Pressed on whether Iannone is under consideration, Salucci co🦄nfirmed: “Yeah Iannone is one of them, but we have maybe four riders more-or-less on the table.”

Iannone was a MotoGP rider from 2013 until failing a doping test ༒at the end of 2019, winning Ducati’s first race of the Gigi Dall’Igna era in Austria 2016.

𒅌After serving a four-year ban, the Italian made a racing comeback in WorldSBK this season, winning at the recent Aragon round.

Iannone, who claims not to have been contacted yet, is one of several Ducati WorldSBK riders tipped to be in the running for the VR46 seat. Rookie title co🔜ntender Nicolo Bulega is another.

“We like also Nicolo. But anyway, we will see w♛hat happens,” said𒐪 Salucci.

But Bulega, a former member of the VR46 Academy and race team, is said to have baulkedꦕ🧸 at the prospect of making a MotoGP debut without any testing.

Double WorldSBK champion and team-mate Alvaro Bautista or Barni Ducati WorldSBK race winner Danilo Petrucci would make more sense in terms of recent M🍎otoGP ex🐻perience, not to mention factory test rider Michele Pirro.

The 2024 🥃WorldSBK season concludes at Jerez this weekend.

Meanwhile, Salucci revealed that, following surgery, di Giannantonio is predicted to be at 80% fitness fo🐠r the start of 2025 pre-s꧅eason testing at Sepang in February.