Victoria loses MotoGP to South Australia

After almost 30 years at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, and a history dating back to 1989, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will move to Adelaide in 2027, on the first ‘street circuit’ to be used in the MotoGP era.

With the current contract between MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (nee Dorna Sports) and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation due to expire this year, rumours of a renewal being in danger were voiced more than a year ago, with critics of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit saying the infrastructure doesn’t meet modern standards, with unreliable weather, access to the island and limited accommodation as other negatives.

Those criticisms seem at odds with the fact that last year’s GP attracted more than 91,000 spectators – the largest crowd since 2012. It also goes against most riders citing Phillip Island as one of their favourite tracks.

Of the Aussies to have won at Phillip Island, both Wayne Gardner and Casey Stoner were critical of the move, while Mick Doohan was more pragmatic, saying it could elevate the sport to new heights in Australia.

Despite calls from many parties, led by Phillip Island businesses and Bass Coast residents, for the Victorian State Government to do more to ensure the Australian MotoGP round stayed in its spiritual home, no deal was reached, with the move to South Australia made official on 19 February.

MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group had reportedly been pushing for the event to relocate to the Albert Park F1 circuit as a condition for a new deal in Victoria, but to make that a reality, significant works would have been required to the inner-city track to meet FIM safety standards.

Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Tourism in the Allan Labor Government, said that wasn’t an option, adding he wasn’t willing to “sell out” Phillip Island to keep MotoGP in Victoria beyond this year.

“The foreign private owners of MotoGP demanded that we move it to Albert Park,” Dimopoulos said. “We were never willing to sell out Phillip Island, impose further disruption on the Albert Park community, or compromise the grand prix.”

With the move to South Australia effective from 2027 on a six-year deal, the next set of questions regarding the future of the Australian GP was how safe the Adelaide Street Circuit will be. Modern MotoGP bikes, even with the downsizing to 850cc powerplants and reduced aero that will come into effect next year, need huge amounts of run-off to ensure rider safety. That’s why the championship hasn’t raced at a street circuit since Imatra in Finland in 1981. The Isle of Man lost its spot on the GP calendar after 1976, while Macau’s street circuit has never hosted a championship round.

The Adelaide Street Circuit will use sections of the same ‘parklands’ track where the Australian F1 Grand Prix was held from 1985 to 1995, and currently used by the Supercars series. Approximately 4.195km in length, the proposed circuit features 17 turns, a flattened out ‘staircase’ section and claimed top speeds of 340+km/h on a long straight that runs along Dequetteville Terrace.

Present for the announcement of the Australian Motorcycle GP’s move was South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer, Carlos Ezpeleta, and Prima Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller.

“Bringing MotoGP to Adelaide marks a major milestone in the evolution of our championship,” said Ezpeleta. "From the very beginning, together with the FIM, we made sure that safety remained uncompromised - every element of the Adelaide Street Circuit has been engineered to meet the highest standards of modern MotoGP, ensuring riders can race at full intensity with complete confidence.

"Adelaide’s commitment to major events makes it the perfect home for MotoGP’s next chapter in Australia. We’re incredibly excited to showcase a new style of racing here and to create a true celebration of our sport that brings fans even closer to the action.
"This partnership represents bold ambition from both MotoGP and Australia - and we couldn’t be prouder to begin this journey together."

More details on the event will be released in due course.