The MotoGP paddock reacted, as expected, somewhat subduedly to the news that the iconic Phillip Island circuit will drop off the calendar in 2027 and be replaced with a new street circuit design in Adelaide, when much of the grid had their first chance to speak to media ahead of this weekend’s second and final pre-season test in Thailand.
Not quite yet presenting the full picture of the grid’s views with Honda, Ducati, and Yamaha among those teams electing not to take part in preview media activity, plenty of others still had opinions about the switch away from what is a widely beloved circuit - albeit while being careful not to criticise the idea of racing on a street circuit despite safety concerns.
“It was a punch on my heart,” Fabio Di Giannantonio said of the loss of Phillip Island. “I think it's the most beautiful track in the world. I still believe that we can make something to continue to race there, because I think MotoGP deserves a track like this. Honestly, if I have to say that I'm happy that it's out of the calendar, I'm not happy.”
That view was echoed by plenty of others, too, with Brad Binder calling Phillip Island "epic", former world champion Jorge Martin talking about how sad he was to lose "the best track on the calendar", and with Enea Bastianini calling the news ‘a brutal loss.’
However, they’ve all been careful to temper their reactions, with the universal consensus being that they need time before they can properly judge the circuit’s planned Adelaide replacement - especially as new MotoGP owner Liberty Media looks to grow MotoGP’s audience the way it has so successfully with F1.
“If you see the F1 in the past,” explained 2025 Australian GP winner Raul Fernandez, “if you see how they advanced a lot the sport, it's for this kind of thing. I think MotoGP is in a really good way.
“I really agree with this kind of thing. Sometimes it's quite difficult for us because we have a lot of things to do, but I think if we want our sport to be bigger and bigger, we need to make these kinds of things. So I am happy.
“The first thing that we have to see is the safety for us. If the track is safe, I don't care about where we go. I mean, if it's better for the sport, will be fine for us. I think it's good because I am a MotoGP rider, but also I love this sport. If it's good for the sport, I will be happy.”
However, another recent first-time winner at Phillip Island, Johann Zarco, says that he understands the criticism of the news (including that aired by six-time winner Casey Stoner) - and that while he thinks a street race can be made to work for MotoGP, it’s unlikely to be particularly exciting as a result.
“Phillip Island was unique,” said the LCR Honda rider. “I have seen the post of Casey Stoner, and I like the way he's telling the things.
“It will never be [truly] 'street' because we need space for safety, that you cannot really imagine to do it on streets. I guess to be able to have the safety in a place where we can see everything, we have to reduce the speed of the track, of the corners.
“And this for a rider is not what is the most fun. Because Hungary is like this, and it's still Marc [Marquez] winning, that is not fun for the others!”
In fact, despite many fans suggesting that the grid would call for a boycott of a proposal to race on a street circuit, only one rider raised such a suggestion.
“No comments from me,” laughed Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura when asked by The Race. “I just feel like everybody's been overreacting right now.
“If the organisation said we will race there, we have to go there and see how it is. I don't really care. Let them do it.
"And if it's too dangerous, I'm not going to race. If it's OK to race, I will race. Still time. So, we'll see.”
