MotoGP's final appearance at the Phillip Island Circuit ended in the worst possible way with no track action on Sunday.
The poor weather forecast, which had been available since the start of the week, came to pass and the championship bid farewell to one of its most iconic venues with only two demonstration laps to greet the fans who had been expected to fill the grandstands for a record attendance. There would be no racing, however, which was what everyone had come to see.
Phillip Island woke up to heavy rain and strong winds early on Sunday morning. Poor visibility prevented the medical helicopter from flying, which was essential to evacuate riders in the event of a serious accident, particularly at the Australian circuit. The distance to mainland Melbourne, where the designated hospital is located, makes an ambulance transfer by road impractical, with the journey taking more than the maximum limit of 45 minutes.
As a result, no sessions could get underway, despite the track itself being considered safe for racing. The schedule was repeatedly delayed before the sessions were eventually cancelled. Above all, the organisers tried to save the MotoGP grand prix, bringing it forward in a similar move to the one made on Saturday at the Brazilian GP, when the Goiania sprint race was rescheduled after a hole appeared in the track following qualifying.
However, it proved impossible to send MotoGP bikes out on track at any point. After several delays, the decision was finally taken before 4pm local time to cancel the 18th full-length race of the season.
The decision primarily benefited Aprilia's Jorge Martin, who was already set to miss the race through injury and now remains just 10 points behind Marc Marquez, who lost the opportunity to make a decisive move in the championship.
However, one question lingered among fans and journalists at the end of the day: if the poor weather forecast was already known, why wasn't the grand prix moved to Saturday? There was a precedent: the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
On that occasion, similarly difficult conditions were expected, prompting the championship organisers to proactively decide on Friday to move the main race to Saturday, when the forecast was more favourable. The sprint was then scheduled for Sunday, with the aim of limiting the loss of points if either race had to be cancelled.
The riders and bikes line up
Photo by: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images
That was ultimately what happened: the main race took place on Saturday, with Johann Zarco claiming victory, while Sunday's sprint was cancelled.
For the 2026 edition, the poor weather forecast had been available since Wednesday. On Thursday, Fabio di Giannantonio himself raised the possibility with the media that the same decision as three years earlier could be taken. However, no such change was made.
Several journalists asked MotoGP's organisers why they had not repeated the schedule change, which had been widely praised in 2023 for the championship's swift response to the weather forecast. A spokesperson for the championship provided an explanation.
MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group said that, although Sunday's forecast was poor, conditions were not expected to deteriorate to the point where racing would become impossible.
"Race Direction was monitoring the weather forecast very closely for the weekend. There was a forecast for rain and wind on Sunday, but not to the level that would risk not being able to hold the races," the spokesperson said.
The championship also explained that it had no indication by Saturday that visibility would prevent the medical helicopter from operating on Sunday.
"As of Saturday, there was no information that visibility would be limiting and that helicopter flight would not be possible on Sunday," the spokesperson added.
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