with tweaks made in between to suit the four-wheel machines.<\/a><\/p>\nAdelaide\u2019s plan for MotoGP involves using a modified version of the longer layout originally conceived for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1985.<\/p>\n
Its return will mean bypassing the Supercars circuit\u2019s most infamous corner \u2013 the fearsome, 200km\/h+ right-hand sweeper known simply as Turn 8.<\/p>\n
The corner was introduced as the result of the shortening of the original F1 circuit for the first Adelaide 500 in 1999.<\/p>\n
Utilising Bartels Road instead of Rundle Road initially involved an awkward, tyre-bundle lined chicane, before a makeover in 2002 that resulted in what we know today.<\/p>\n
Turn 8 has long been contentious and various safety-focused tweaks have occurred over the years \u2013 including an overhaul in the aftermath of Ashley Cooper\u2019s tragic accident in 2008.<\/p>\n
But the challenge of threading between the barriers at high-speed has remained the same, ensuring it\u2019s simultaneously loved, respected and feared by drivers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Supercars-AdelaideGrandFinal-Saturday-088.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The inside guardrail has triggered many major accidents. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the best part of this track,\u201d declared David Reynolds of Turn 8 at last year\u2019s event, 12 months after suffering a heavy crash at the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the danger, it\u2019s the risk, it\u2019s everything. That\u2019s what makes the circuit so awesome.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get it right you feel like the King, but when you get it wrong, you feel like a dickhead. That\u2019s what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turn 8 is being bypassed on the mooted MotoGP layout for logistical reasons \u2013 the move back to international competition requiring the bigger circuit.<\/p>\n
But the corner is also the antithesis of what motorcycles demand, as was evident in the SA Motorsport Board\u2019s recent presentation to Supercars drivers and teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe track that\u2019s going to get built is for MotoGP and we\u2019re going to have to make it work a little bit,\u201d noted Triple Eight star Broc Feeney.<\/p>\n
Adelaide organisers sought feedback from the V8 fraternity on what temporary changes they can make to wall and kerb profiles to ensure the Grand Final retains its spectacle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is you want it to be a proper street track,\u201d added Feeney, whose father raced motorcycles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I can help advise them on in this situation is to put the walls on the edge of the track everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to lose any sense of a street track and obviously MotoGP is not going to have any walls directly on the exit of the corners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like it to have a proper street track feel, put proper barriers around the outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we lose Turn 8, that will be a shame. It\u2019s one of the most historic and prominent corners in our calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut hopefully it\u2019ll create some other cool stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adelaide chiefs in Darwin on circuit feedback mission<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe last point is what Adelaide is currently promising \u2013 including for the returned \u2018Brewery Bend\u2019 corner that effectively replaces Turn 8 on the planned layout.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the speed profiling we\u2019ve done already shows that the speeds are very similar to what the current Turn 8 is,\u201d said SA motorsport board boss Mark Warren last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we need to make sure that it\u2019s going to be safe for the next 10, 20 years to come, but don\u2019t take away too much of the consequences if drivers do get it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Supercars Championship returns to street circuit action this weekend with the NTI Townsville 500, with Adelaide set to decide the champion across November 26-29.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toyota Supra prototype at Turn 8 during demonstration runs in 2025. Image: InSyde Media The SA government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[130409,64,63,806,805,803,804,9910,85],"class_list":["post-788092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-adelaide-grand-final","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-slot2","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Last](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Supercars-AdelaideGrandFinal-Saturday-009.jpg\")