Wait for Iannone verdict 'damages' Aprilia, says CEO Rivola

Iannone's hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the 18-month doping ban handed to him back in April occurred on Thursday, with proceedings lasting "almost 12 hours".

The one-time MotoGP winner was found guilty of ingesting the banned substance Drostanolone during last year's Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.

The FIM court did concede his argument of accidental ingestion through contaminated meat, although this was not enough to fully acquit him.

Iannone and Aprilia believe his sentence should be overturned based on past precedent of athletes having similar bans scrapped for accidental ingestion through contamination.

However, some experts argue Iannone may struggle to be acquitted as Drostanolone is not commonly used in meat production owing to its high cost.

Rivola says Aprilia's case was backed by eight scientists who only stepped up after they were satisfied with its findings, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rejected their defence in its quest to have the ban extended to the full four years applicable.

A decision is now expected by mid-November, which complicates matters for Aprilia regarding its rider line-up for 2021 amidst links to free agents Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso.

Speaking to MotoGP's world feed, Rivola said: "What looks to be a bit... I don't want to say frustrating, but annoying is that we brought cases that were decided by the CAS with not so many scientific explanations and demonstrations as we did actually for Iannone.

"WADA, again it's their job, didn't accept it at all, but luckily it's the business of the judge to do it.

"It's interesting, there is one case of a Canadian athlete Dominika Jamnicky (similar to Iannone's), but there are many more.

"Now obviously it's a damage for Aprilia to wait another month.

"But spending so much time on the case and knowing eight scientists defended Iannone, and they decide to defend Andrea only after looking at the papers and numbers.

"One of those is Professor Pascal Dietzel, who has been fighting against doping for 35 years.

"If he's staying with us, there's a reason for that. He doesn't have to demonstrate nothing to anyone.

"Even if we are wasting time in a way, I'm happy about our decision and we will wait one more month."

Rivola says all of the "scientific demonstrations" presented to CAS were "not really fought against by WADA" and sees "no reason for them to add four more years" to Iannone's sentence.

Aprilia has repeatedly expressed a desire to retain Iannone for 2021, but it is understood outgoing LCR rider Crutchlow has a pre-agreement already in place with the Italian manufacturer.

Dovizioso's Ducati exit at the end of year has also presented Aprilia with an opportunity to sign the MotoGP runner-up from the past three seasons, however the Italian looks to be nearing a test rider deal elsewhere having confirmed on Thursday he was in discussions with several marques.

When asked about the prospect of missing out on potential signings because Aprilia is awaiting for the Iannone verdict, Rivola replied: "I'm not prepared, to be honest, but I think it's fair for the rider."