Marco Bezzecchi
The Adelaide MotoGP street circuit has not been designed yet, but it has still been widely criticised ahead of its opening race in 2027, including by the city’s F1 track designer.
Adelaide will replace Phillip Island as the venue for the Australian Grand Prix as of next year. Liberty Media have been flirting with the idea of using street circuits in the two-wheeled sport, and the decision has been widely bashed.
Is Phillip Island too dangerous for MotoGP?
MotoGP commentator Keith Huewen labelled losing Phillip Island as ‘tragic’, while Jeremy McWilliams called it a ‘dark day’ for the sport to lose such an iconic circuit from the calendar.
Carmelo Ezpeleta insists that ‘safety comes first’, with Phillip Island being called too dangerous to host races in the modern era. But Adelaide’s F1 track designer, Bob Barnard, is not convinced by the plans.
Adelaide F1 track designer thinks 2027 MotoGP race will be like Albert Park
Adelaide hosted F1 races between 1985 and 1995, with the MotoGP circuit set to be a different design from the layout used back then. But Barnard has pointed out issues with the proposal, saying that it will be similar to Albert Park, which currently hosts the F1 Australian GP.
“Alright, so the key is when I built Adelaide for the Formula 1, I was not allowed to take one tree out, not one over the whole track. And this thing went through the park, so there were trees I’d love to have taken out,” he said via The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast.
“So you literally had to work within those confines. Now, when I look at this plan, it’s going to be Albert Park. They’re just going to knock all these trees out. I mean, the track isn’t going to be related to what I built in the first place, so is it going to be better?
“I think it’s going to be Albert Park, and no one wants to go to Albert Park anyway. Unfortunately, this is what’s going on with Liberty.
Is MotoGP selling its soul by leaving Phillip Island?
“There’s a few things going on. One of the big things about a city track and you take Adelaide for the Formula 1, no one drove their car there apart from the drivers.
“There was no parking space, but it’s in the middle of a city. So you’ve got public transport, all these garages in town, everything else. Everyone sort of got to the track, and that’s the beauty. It’s like Zandvoort, but this whole thing about sustainability is just so much b——-.
“Because you got to get rid of a track like Spa because people have to drive there. And then, if you’re interested in sustainability, leave all the drivers and teams at home, all on a simulator.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about the Australian Grand Prix, including past winners
Bob Barnard says racing at Adelaide is not a good idea for MotoGP
Barnard then added that he was not in support of MotoGP going to Adelaide: “So do I think it’s a good idea? I don’t, because I mean, they’re going to get so much opposition. I mean, we had enough opposition.
“And then, I don’t know if you remember what happened at Albert Park. There were people who chained themselves to trees, they went and protested outside Bernie Ecclestone’s house in London.
“You’re going to have the same group of people in Adelaide if you start showing them what you’re going to knock over. And then who’s paying for this?
“I mean, the state government is going to spend so much money to put this race on. They’re building a whole new pit complex. I mean, it’s going to be a hundred million or more, easily rebuilding this track. And you’ve got to say, for what?
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