MotoGP is expected to announce on Thursday that the iconic Phillip Island circuit will host its last race in 2026.
The series is preparing to unveil a new deal with the government of South Australia that potentially could mean MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix takes place on a street circuit in the centre of Adelaide.
There has been increasing speculation about the future of the event since last year’s race in October, with series chief Carlos Ezpeleta’s newly renamed MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (previously known as Dorna Sports) in hardball negotiations with the Victorian State Government, promoter of both MotoGP and Formula 1 in Australia.
Dorna was understood to have been pushing to take MotoGP to F1’s Albert Park venue, something deemed totally implausible thanks to safety concerns at the track through the city centre greenspace.
And while that might have now allowed South Australia to sweep in - something it has been looking to do for some time as part of an aggressive strategy to attract motorsport events to Adelaide - it remains far from certain how MotoGP could work on a street circuit centred around the city’s old F1 pits complex. A version of the track last used by F1 in 1995 still hosts Australia’s premier domestic motorsport series Supercars.
There remains a back-up option of The Bend, an hour outside Adelaide - but the flat nature of the venue means it’s unlikely to attract the same level of interest as the iconic Phillip Island track should the race be forced to head there instead.
More details about the nature of the new deal are expected to be revealed by Ezpeleta in a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
from The Race https://ift.tt/qEX45BL
No comments: