He added: "The 2015 and 2016 seasons had been very good for me. The [Ducati] in particular was impressive in acceleration and braking, but suffered on corner entry. I switched to Suzuki and found the opposite."

After a poor debut season on the GSX-RR, Iannone claimed four podiums in 2018 before starting a new challenge with Aprilia, which is still awaiting its first podium of the four-stroke era.

"I feel good with the team and I am convinced that I can do a really good job," said Iannone, who made history for the factory by briefly leading last year's Australian Grand Prix.

"The whole company has grown a lot and the [racing delay] will allow time to improve the GP2020 even more."

The 30-year-old, still awaiting a verdict following an FIM Hearing for failing a doping test at Sepang last year, also admitted to Biaggi that he had been a fan of the Roman Emperor's arch-rival Rossi when growing up.

"My brother Angelo was a 'Biaggista', but I wasn't! When I started racing, I was seven-years-old and Rossi won his first title in 125, he was my idol."