Iannone to win title within three years, says manager

The Italian joined the premier class of motorcycle grand prix racing in 2013, riding a satellite Ducati bike, before eventually earning a promotion to the factory squad.

He finished his first race with the works team on the podium, remained in the top three in the provisional standings for quite a while and added another podium finish on home soil in Italy.

As it stands, he has the edge on his teammate, the vastly experienced Andrea Dovizioso, in the standings.

"Your first and main rival is your teammate," manager Pernat told Motorsport.com.

"To beat him helps him to progress. That's a sure thing. It builds his confidence and [Andrea] feels good about it".

Dovizioso has endured his share of problems and difficulties in 2015, yet that takes little away from Iannone, who proved that he was a very steady finisher.

"He has shown great consistency near the front of the pack. He rarely falls and he's one of the very few to have finished all his races. He does it at the very high level of competition, too, not just aiming to cross the line in seventh place," Pernat added.

"He has progressed a lot. He was only missing some consistency. He now understands when to settle for the points."

Pernat continued: "At 26, he's not a kid anymore. He has matured a lot. I think he now can play a major more in the sport and he knows it. He is turning into a really good rider.

"I noted something that was confirmed to me by one of his engineers: he's very rational. He acts like a veteran and a highly experienced rider.

"He easily finds solutions to problems. Engineers listen to what he says because his comments are very accurate, and nine times out of ten he's right on what needs to be done on his machine," the manager added.

According to Pernat, the objective now is to win a race this year, and fight for the title starting next season.

"He's the type of rider who can achieve great things", Pernat said.

"This year, he wants to finish fourth in the championship. The updated machine will help him to be a little more competitive, because it's clear that he wants to win dearly. Second place is no longer enough. I think [Ducati] will win a race this year. I truly believe in a win, and why not at Misano?

"2016 all depends on the motorcycle. We must not forget that this is a totally new machine, and the team has no track data whatsoever with it. However, the focus has always been on 2016. I hope Ducati will fight for the title next year.

"I am persuaded that Iannone will win the world title one day or the other, in the next three years at the most.

"He now has everything it takes to do it. He's not afraid at all, even when he's fighting against Marquez. He doesn't care, and he passes him. He's very good in the close battles, even as strong as Marquez."