Victoria loses Phillip Island MotoGP as Adelaide swoops

Victoria has lost the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix after three decades, ending the race’s long connection to Phillip Island and dealing a blow to the Victorian government after it refused to move the event to Melbourne.

A government source familiar with the situation told this masthead that Victoria had lost the event and confirmed it would be moving to South Australia.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation has for months been locked in tense negotiations with Dorna Sports to extend a contract to host the race at the famed Phillip Island circuit.

Sport and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos confirmed on Wednesday that the 30th MotoGP at Phillip Island this October would be the last.

He wouldn’t confirm where the race was going, but Dimopoulos said he was disappointed in Dorna Sports’ decision.

“We could have kept it in Victoria, if we sold out Phillip Island,” Dimopoulos said.

“We were never willing to sell out Phillip Island, or impose further on the Albert Park community, or to compromise the F1 [race].

“All those things we were not willing to agree to. We agreed to every other request for the extension of the contract, but not moving it from Phillip Island.

“We are the major events capital, not just in this country but globally, so I wish the MotoGP all the best with their second choice.”

Dimopoulos added that Victoria offered to boost the marketing money and the fans’ experience but organisers wanted the race held close to a major city.

“We met every other request,” Dimopoulos said.

“We met the licence fee. We met everything else. In fact, we went way beyond it because we offered to uplift the marketing and the fan experience, to really grow the event on the back of the fact that there was 91,000 people there last year; the best in 13 years.

“They were accepting of all that, but their final demand was you must move the event into the city.”

In a statement, the government said the state had agreed to contribute additional funding to help Dorna Sports create a “bigger, better event beyond 2026” but only on the condition that the event remained at Phillip Island.

Destination Philip Island regional tourism chairman Jeff Webb said he had not received confirmation from anyone, but said it would be a massive loss to the region.

“It’s a significant blow to tourism for the region and will have a huge impact on hospitality, retail and local employment,” he told this masthead.

“It also reduces international exposure for Victoria. We’ve been working for six months with the government and council and stakeholders to maintain the event, which contributes significantly to local economy.

“Our focus now is on identifying tourist initiatives to hopefully fill the loss.”

Dorna Sports has openly considered racing more on street circuits since it was bought by Formula 1 owners Liberty Media last year.

In January, a government source familiar with the negotiations told The Age that Spain-based Dorna Sports had demanded the event be moved to Albert Park in inner Melbourne if the contract was to be renewed.

Motorcycle circuits typically require more space than Formula 1 tracks so riders who crash can slide onto large run-off areas and minimise injury.

Many of Albert Park’s barriers are close to the track, meaning motorcycle races would likely require track expansion and tree felling, which would anger locals and cost millions of dollars.

The event had a long-standing connection with Phillip Island and had been the scene of several historic victories by local riders, including Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner.

Last year’s MotoGP attracted 93,000 fans – the highest since 2012 and a 10,000 increase on 2024.

The final Australian Grand Prix under Phillip Island’s current 10-year contract will be held from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25 this year.

“This October will be the 30th year, and we will do the best send-off,” Dimopoulos said.

“It will be a humungous event. Last year the crowd was 91,000, we’ll hope to clock over 100,000 people in this one as it will be a send-off, effectively.”

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