Australian MotoGP Cancelled in Phillip Island Rain
The Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island has been cancelled after persistent rain and poor visibility made racing unsafe, ending the circuit’s run as host of the race after nearly three decades. The Australian MotoGP cancelled decision also wiped out the Moto3 and Moto2 races, despite a sell-out crowd waiting through the downpour.
“Limited visibility has resulted in the cancellation of the Australian MotoGP,” organisers said.
The race, run on Sunday, October 25, was the last Australian Grand Prix at the seaside circuit two hours from Melbourne. From next year, the race moves to a city-centre street circuit in Adelaide.
A title race frozen at ten points
The cancellation denied championship leader Marc Marquez the chance to stretch his lead over injured rival Jorge Martin. Marquez, the seven-time world champion riding for Ducati, had taken pole position for the main race on Saturday.
Martin, riding for Aprilia, had already been ruled out of the race. He fractured his forearm when he crashed during the sprint on Saturday, a race won by Marquez.
Martin will leave Australia still ten points behind Marquez, with 365 points to the leader’s 355. A grand prix victory for Marquez would have stretched that gap to 35 points. Instead, the injured rider escapes further damage with four rounds of the season still to run, starting next week in Malaysia.
Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi sits third in the standings, 50 points behind Marquez.
Whether Martin can ride at Sepang remains unclear. His team said the break was not as bad as first thought and he would not need to return home to Spain for surgery.
“The only confirmed injury is a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius,” Aprilia said, meaning the bone remains aligned. “Consequently the rider will not be returning to Spain and will undergo the necessary treatment over the coming days.”
A farewell lap in the rain
Fans who had waited through hours of rain, traffic and muddy car parks were treated to a farewell lap. Riders rode slowly around the soaking track and waved to the crowd.
Home racer Jack Miller did his best to entertain his supporters. The Pramac Racing rider, a strong performer in wet conditions, pulled a stand-up wheelie over the finish line before heading to the grandstand and throwing his gloves and boots into the crowd.
“This is a tough pill to swallow,” said Miller, 31, who will leave MotoGP at the end of the season after more than a decade to join Pata Maxus Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship.
“You know, I was praying for rain all weekend. We got the rain, but obviously we weren’t organised enough to get the racing going, so it’s a tough one.”
Miller thanked the fans for turning out at Phillip Island despite the traffic and the terrible weather, and he told them they deserved better.
Rain had been expected for the weekend, but organisers did not revive the strategy used in 2023, when the grand prix was moved forward to Saturday and the sprint was scheduled for Sunday. That sprint three years ago was eventually called off too.
Limited visibility affecting the medical helicopter also made racing impossible, underlining why organisers could not wait any longer for the weather to clear.
Australian MotoGP cancelled ends Phillip Island era
Phillip Island has hosted the race since 1997, but its contract expires this year and the race moves to Adelaide from 2027.
The promoter wanted to broaden the race’s appeal by shifting it to Melbourne’s Albert Park, which hosts the Australian Formula One race. The Victoria state government insisted it should remain at Phillip Island, but the final outcome sends the race to Adelaide instead.
Indonesian rider Veda Pratama was among those denied a race, after taking pole position for the cancelled Moto3 contest.
Last year, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez won the Australian Grand Prix, with Fabio Di Giannantonio second and Marco Bezzecchi third.
Grand prix racing continues to draw big crowds around the world, and Formula One is expanding into new markets such as Rwanda. Max Verstappen has dominated recent grand prix weekends, while young talent keeps arriving through the junior ranks.
The championship now heads to Sepang, where the question is whether Martin’s forearm will let him defend his ten-point deficit, or whether Marquez will finally pull clear.
Why was the Australian MotoGP cancelled?
Organisers cancelled the race because persistent rain and poor visibility made racing unsafe, with limited visibility also affecting the medical helicopter.
