The South Australian government has confirmed the Australian MotoGP will move to South Australia from 2027.
Making the announcement alongside MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said it would run as a street circuit, along Adelaide’s old Grand Prix race track.
“MotoGP is a pre-eminent, international motorsport event and now we bring over 600 million global fans’ attention to Adelaide, South Australia,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for an unprecedented time for South Australians.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas reveals the street circuit that will be used in Adelaide from 2027. (ABC News)
The Victorian government confirmed yesterday that this year’s race would be the last held at Philip Island.
The decision comes a day after the Victorian government offered the operator additional funding to keep the race at Phillip Island.
Speculation that the MotoGP event might move to SA has been circulating for some time amid tensions during the negotiations between the race’s owners and the Victorian government.
It is the first time a MotoGP event will be held on a street circuit.
“For the first time in history, anywhere in the world, Adelaide will become host to MotoGP on a street circuit, in the heart of our city,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“Bringing it to life. Bringing the old F1 Grand Prix track back.”
Peter Malinauskas said the event will see the return of the F1 track used in Adelaide.Â
Mr Ezpeleta said he was proud of the quick turnaround in which the deal was made and was excited for the event to take place in Adelaide.
“I’m still pinching myself about this being a reality and how special it’s going to be globally to have this circuit, to have this event, in such a scenic and incredible stage that Adelaide is,” he said.
Yesterday, the Victorian government confirmed negotiations had broken down.
“In any negotiation, you have to draw a line; otherwise, you’re not worth anything,” Victoria’s Minister for Sports and Events Steve Dimopoulos said.
“The line we drew is we were backing regional Victoria and Phillip Island, and the line that they drew obviously was, ‘If you’re not moving it to Albert Park, we’re out’.”
The event has been held on Phillip Island since the 1990s, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to Gippsland’s Bass Coast.
The SA government said the 2027 event would be held in Adelaide across three days in November “in the period before” the Adelaide Grand Final Supercars “to maximise utilisation of the circuit and minimise disruptions”.
The event will see the return of the full-length Adelaide Grand Prix street circuit used in the Forumla 1 era, with important modifications to meet the international federation’s rigorous safety standards.
The government said the circuit length would be about 4.195 kilometres with 18 turns and expected top speeds of more than 340 kilometres per hour.
The current Supercars version of the Adelaide Street Circuit is 3.22km with 14 turns.
Jack Miller said he was excited about the move to Adelaide. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
MotoGP rider Jack Miller said while Philip Island would always be special to him and his family, today’s announcement was also “really cool for Australia”.
“We’ve got a lot of places in this country to visit, and a lot of things to see and a lot of beautiful cities and Adelaide being able to have the MotoGP here … I really look forward to seeing what the city of Adelaide does for MotoGP,” he said.
When asked about the safety of racing on a street track, Miller said he trusted the federation.
“There won’t be a concrete barrier or an air fence within touching distance,” he said.
“I fully trust Carlos and their calculations … they have an incredible array of knowledge when it comes to crashing and how much time you need to stop.”