THE Australian round of the MotoGP™ World Championships is set to return to the world-famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on October 18-20 next year.
Fingers crossed for a clear run with the weather in 2024!
And thereafter, the Spanish-based organiser of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGP), since 1991, Dorna Sports, has a contract with its Australian and Victorian partners, to continue there until 2026.
However, the Sentinel-Times received credible information during the week that there’s a big push to get the MotoGP moved to a site next to the Avalon International Airport from 2027 onwards, to take advantage of the fly-in, fly-out efficiencies, access to Melbourne and Geelong, and dare we say it, better weather in the west of the state.
We ran the scenario past Dorna and here’s what their Chief Sporting Officer (CSO) Carlos Ezpeleta had to say:
“Our agreement for the Australian Grand Prix is with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) not Linfox (owner of both the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and the Avalon Airport) and the current contract runs till 2026 included,” Mr Ezpeleta said.
“But there already is a conversation and interest from both the State of Victoria and Dorna to extend the agreement.
“Linfox own the Phillip Island circuit, which is hired by AGPC for MotoGP and we also know Linfox because they organize the WorldSBK event at Phillip Island, but we have no direct agreement with Linfox for MotoGP.
“The State of Victoria and Phillip Island, have been the home for MotoGP in Australia since 1989, and continuously since 1997, we firmly believe this is the place for us to be.
“Furthermore, Phillip Island is currently the only MotoGP homologated track in the continent and upgrades are been made year after year to improve the event.”
To repeat the salient pieces of that statement:
- “…we firmly believe this is the place for us to be.”
- “Phillip Island is currently the only MotoGP homologated track in the continent”, and
- “…there already is a conversation and interest from both the State of Victoria and Dorna to extend the agreement.”
So, the preference of Dorna Sports is to stay at Phillip Island and while the Island has the only sanctioned MotoGP track in Australia, Phillip Island is in the box seat.
However, the rumour remains. Avalon near Geelong is believed to be a firm candidate to take the race, and the economic boost away from Phillip Island.
The Victorian Tourism Minister, The Hon. Steve Dimopoulos MP, wasn’t able to shed much light on the situation but at least he mentioned ‘Bass Coast’ in his brief statement:
"The MotoGP™ is the largest international sporting event in regional Australia, bringing visitors from across Victoria and interstate to the spectacular Bass Coast," said Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
As background, the Office of the Minister said:
“The MotoGP™ has been held at the Phillip Island circuit since 1997 and is contracted to be held in Phillip Island until 2026.There has been no decision made to move the MotoGP™. As negotiations with Dorna and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme are currently underway and commercial in confidence, we cannot provide any further comment.
It's hardly a ringing endorsement from the Minister although, to be fair, he may well be bound by "commercial in confidence" negotiations. However, with a state election due within a month of what might be the last MotoGP race at Phillip Island in October 2026, any move away from the Island would not play well in the ultra-marginal State electorate of Bass.
It is not known what the MotoGP is worth to Phillip Island annually but when the 2021 race had to be cancelled for COVID, The Age said “the cancellation of a world-class motorcycle race at Phillip Island has left a $42 million hole in the local economy, sparking a push by the Bass Coast Shire for new projects to entice domestic visitors and offset the financial damage.”
The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix attracted an estimated 92,000 people to Phillip Island before the pandemic and notwithstanding the main race switch to Saturday in 2023, the numbers were getting back to those sorts of levels again this year.