It’ s located in a field, on an island some two hours distant from Melbourne, with only one narrow road bridge link to the mainland. OK, the fact that it’ s in a field just adds to its charm but the other factors are an issue. Look to F1 to see what Liberty Media want in the circuits they run events on. The tracks they are in close proximity to, or preferably in the middle of, cities that can feed the beast with offerings of improved access, VIP packages, air-conditioned luxury and high ticket prices. That proximity to city centres inevitably means street circuits. For high performance bike racing, street circuits are an unproven quantity in the modern era, the primary concerns being around safety with secondary concerns around the fact that a lot of street circuits are … boring. OK, true road racing like the Isle of Man TT run on open roads and Macau GP runs on armcolined streets but neither of these make for sensible comparison with MotoGP [ and rider deaths are not uncommon- Ed ]. The proposed Adelaide circuit is already part-proven having been used for F1 back in the 90s and everyone and their dog has committed that it will
be MotoGP-ready come October 2027. The Adelaide circuit isn’ t a true street circuit in that a large chunk of it runs through flat parkland but there is a real risk, hopefully one that will be dealt with, that the track will be dull, in comparison to Phillip Island’ s crazy fast layout, or a poor spectator venue. Whilst spectator facilities, that is to say grandstands, toilets, concessions etc, are undeniably poor at Phillip Island, the view from many locations around the track is spectacular and there are plenty of spots such as Siberia and Lukey Heights from which you can take in a decent chunk of the circuit. Street circuits, by their nature being relatively flat, and surrounded by catch fencing, simply can’ t compare. As of now, without actually seeing the end result, it remains to be seen what the highs and lows will be of this new circuit compared to the flawed majesty of the Phillip Island. But the reality is that PI losing MotoGP, and probably WorldSBK, shouldn’ t really have come as a surprise. The bigger concern, as it relates to this article is whether WorldSBK is now destined to leave Australia completely. Whether that is the case should become clearer soon.
36 KIWI RIDER