Adelaide steals MotoGP from Phillip Island

Phillip Island will not host MotoGP in 2027, with organisers announcing a move to a new street circuit in Adelaide.

The South Australian government has committed to a six-year deal and has proposed a city-based circuit that follows a similar layout to the Adelaide Street Circuit, which hosted Formula One from 1985 to 1995. The circuit will be approximately 4.195km long, with 18 corners and an estimated top speed of more than 340km/h.

It will mark the first official city-based street circuit in the MotoGP era, and organisers have promised it will include “uncompromised safety standards”.

Phillip Island’s exit from the MotoGP calendar comes after years of speculation that the iconic and much-loved race was under threat.

While ageing facilities, political dogfights and price gouging contributed to the race’s downfall, its fate was cemented after the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (formerly Dorna Sports) demanded that the race be moved to the Albert Park circuit, which currently hosts Formula One.

With a motorcycle race at Albert Park seeming all but impossible due to safety concerns, the South Australian government swooped in to claim the event.

“This is a major coup for South Australia,” said the state’s Premier, Peter Malinauskas. “Hosting the first MotoGP race on a street circuit will give Adelaide a truly unique offering that is sure to attract visitors from interstate and overseas.”

Ironically — or perhaps not — the MotoGP heist comes 30 years after Melbourne pinched the Australian Formula One Grand Prix from Adelaide.

New MotoGP owner Liberty Media Group is responsible for the boom of Formula One in recent years and hopes to replicate that success with its two-wheel counterpart.

A street circuit makes sense from a commercial point of view, but champion riders such as Casey Stoner and Wayne Gardiner have already expressed disappointment about the demise of Phillip Island, and many past and present riders will no doubt share that sentiment.

“Why would MotoGP take possibly their best circuit off the calendar?” asked Stoner in an Instagram post.

“One of the greatest motorcycle circuits in the world, which has produced some of the greatest and most entertaining races we have witnessed, is being pushed aside in place of Adelaide and, supposedly, a street circuit.”

Phillip Island first hosted the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1989 and 1990, with Wayne Gardiner winning both premier-class races. The event moved to Eastern Creek in 1991 but returned to the Island in 1997 and has remained there since.

The circuit is often cited by riders and fans as one of the best and most historic tracks on the calendar. Stoner recently compared its prestige to Monaco in the Formula One series.

Valentino Rossi is the most successful rider at the Island, with eight wins across all classes, but Stoner has the most premier-class victories, with six.

The Island still plays host to the World Superbike Championship, but 2026 will seemingly be its last hurrah in MotoGP — until 2032 at least.