BOB Barnard, the architect of the Adelaide Parklands’ original Formula 1 track, has spoken out over the planned changes to the downtown street circuit to accommodate MotoGP’s planned arrival in the City of Churches in 2027.

While the final configuration has yet to be confirmed, the planned changes will almost certainly affect the 3.219km layout that has been utilised by Supercars since 1999.

Included in this is the possibility that the high-speed turn 8 section will be bypassed via a longer circuit configuration.

Nelson Piquet at the 1990 Australian F1 Grand Prix. Pic: Supplied

Following his founding role with the Adelaide Grand Prix, Barnard was the driving force behind the redevelopment of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and the construction of Eastern Creek, now Sydney Motorsport Park.

Subsequently, he has enjoyed a decorated career behind the scenes and in events at venues such as Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, and the Daytona International Speedway, as well as numerous greenfield circuit builds.

Barnard notes that to instigate change within the confines of the Parkland setting to accommodate motorcycles, substantial hurdles must be overcome.

“When I built Adelaide for the Formula One, I was not allowed to take one tree out, not one, over the whole track,” said Barnard on the Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast.

“This thing went through the park, so there were trees I’d love to have taken out.

“You literally had to work within those confines.

“Now, when I look at this plan, it’s going to be over the park – they’re just going to knock all these trees out.

“I mean, the track isn’t going to be related to what I built in the first place.

“Do I think it’s a good idea? I don’t, because they’re going to get so much opposition.

“I mean, we had enough opposition (in 1985).

“I don’t know if you remember what happened at Albert Park – there were people who chained themselves to trees, and they went and protested outside Bernie Ecclestone’s house in London.

“You’re going to have the same group of people in Adelaide if you start showing them what you’re going to knock over, and then who’s paying for this?

“I mean, the state government is going to spend so much money to put this race on.

“They’re building a whole new pit complex – you’re going to be $100 million or more easily rebuilding this track.

“And you’ve got to say for what? You’ve already got the Supercars that get a huge audience.

“You’ve got the Adelaide Motoring Festival that goes on in February.

“They’re huge events.”

Barnard recalled that the original iteration of the event was held within a strict budget, as a showcase to draw the world’s attention to the city.

“I was chief estimator for a major construction company, so we put a bid in, and they worked out that I grew up in England, went to Brands House, went to Silverstone, knew what Formula 1 was, I’d raced,” he said.

“I knew a lot of people – ‘Bob was the obvious guy to build this racetrack’.

“So, I went, and I sat down with the Premier’s chief of staff, and he says, ‘You’re not building a track for 24 prima donnas, you’re showing off the city’.

“That was the brief, and that’s governed everything we did.

“Because in those days, who the hell knew where Adelaide was?

“I went there, emigrated there, I had no idea where the bloody place was.

“All I knew was a good job waiting when I got there… You know, (the Formula 1 race) put Adelaide on the map.”