Sunday's feature race at Phillip Island faced a brutal delay due to visibility issues relating to the medical helicopter, as Speedcafe reports. It marks a devastating conclusion to three decades of MotoGP racing at the island, bringing a heartbreaking halt to what was supposed to be a historic send-off.
Despite the cancellation of the main event, riders will venture onto the circuit at 3:45pm AEDT for a commemorative farewell lap before finishing on the main straight. That brings at least some closure to a day where the Australian Grand Prix Corporation had forecast a record-breaking crowd having sold out Sunday.
We know that we can earn some points on him but it’s not a matter in our discussion.
“Mainly for the fans, ending up like that is not what we want,” said Ducati team principal Davide Tardozzi.
“The weather is bad but unfortunately the helicopter can’t come from Melbourne. We thought another kind of finish of the weekend.”
For Jorge Martin, who was ruled out of Sunday's race with a forearm fracture, the washout serves as an unexpected reprieve in the championship battle. He stood to lose even more ground to Ducati’s Marc Marquez in the title race, who was set to start the grand prix from pole position. As a result of the weather disruption, the pair will go into the Grand Prix of Malaysia with a 10-point gap.
“It’s like this,” said Tardozzi.
“In some ways, Martin has been lucky but he is a secondary problem because we have to care about the safety of the riders, about the racing in a safe way.
“We know that we can earn some points on him but it’s not a matter in our discussion.”
Looking ahead, MotoGP will move to Adelaide in 2027.
