MotoGP cancellation at Phillip Island: Why the race wasn’t held on Saturday

Following the cancellation of the MotoGP race at Phillip Island, the question arises as to whether a change to the schedule could have saved the Grand Prix. The poor weather forecast for Sunday had been known for days. Back in 2023, the organisers had already reacted by bringing the main race forward to Saturday. However, Aprilia’s racing director Massimo Rivola warns against looking back and taking that solution for granted.

Unlike on Sunday, Saturday’s sprint race was able to take place on a dry track. Marc Marquez won ahead of his brother Alex and Fabio di Giannantonio. According to Rivola, however, it was not possible to predict with certainty from the previous forecasts that these conditions would have allowed for a longer race.

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Foto: Gold & Goose

Why a postponement was not an option

“In fact, the weather was also set to turn quite bad on Saturday from the afternoon onwards, i.e. from the Sprint race onwards. Cold conditions and rain were forecast throughout the day today, but not as heavy rain as the night before,” explained the Italian.

The decision cannot therefore be reduced solely to the question of why MotoGP stuck to the original schedule despite a poor forecast for Sunday. The weather window on Saturday also appeared uncertain in the run-up to the event. Ultimately, the sprint race went ahead, whilst on Sunday, following several postponements, all races were cancelled.

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Massimo Rivola

Foto: Gold & Goose

The decisive factor in the cancellation of the MotoGP race was the restricted visibility, which hampered the operation of the rescue helicopter. Rivola admitted that he had not initially taken this factor into account. “Personally, I hadn’t considered the problem with the helicopter. To say now, with hindsight, that we might have been able to race on Saturday is too simplistic,” the Aprilia boss admitted.

Postponement to Saturday saved the Grand Prix in 2023

Nevertheless, the comparison with 2023 is obvious. Back then, organisers swapped the dates of the Sprint and Grand Prix due to the forecast of deteriorating weather. The main race took place on Saturday, whilst the Sprint was postponed to Sunday.

The Moto3 and Moto2 races also remained scheduled for Sunday at that time. Both classes were given additional warm-up sessions, and the Sunday races were brought forward by an hour. Nevertheless, it was not possible to complete the full programme: the Moto2 race was abandoned early, and the MotoGP Sprint was subsequently cancelled.

Phillip Island 2023: Johann Zarco feierte seinen ersten MotoGP-Sieg

Foto: Gold & Goose

The rescheduling at the time therefore at least saved the premier class’s main race. However, it also shows that even with an adjusted timetable, the consequences of the weather can only be mitigated to a limited extent.

For Rivola, the main focus following this year’s cancellation was the disappointment of the spectators. During the last MotoGP weekend at Phillip Island, all they were left with on Sunday was a farewell lap by the riders behind the safety car. “It’s just a shame that we’re not holding a race for all these people. But that’s not something we really have control over,” lamented the Aprilia racing director.