Secret Supercars visit inspired MotoGP's big Adelaide switch
Secret Supercars visit inspired MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix switch
MotoGP officials visited last year’s Supercars finale to scope out Adelaide
MotoGP set to race on revised street circuit layout from 2027
Such is the attraction of the Supercars Adelaide event, that MotoGP officials secretly visited the venue of last year’s bp Grand Final to scope out what will become the new Australian Grand Prix site.
Revealed earlier this year, MotoGP is set to join Supercars as a major motorsport championships hosting an event in the City of Churches.
From 2027, Adelaide is set to host the Australian Grand Prix, replacing Phillip Island. The Adelaide MotoGP event has been touted as the first ever street circuit event in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
Plans revealed last month revealed a revised circuit layout at Victorian Park, where Formula 1 raced between 1985 and 1995, and where Supercars has raced for points since 1999.
The Adelaide 500 opened Supercars seasons between 1999 and 2020, before becoming what is now known as the bp Adelaide Grand Final from 2022.
In an historic event, the first Grand Final of the Repco Supercars Finals Series, Adelaide attracted a crowd of 285,700 across its four days last year, including a record 102,200 on the Sunday.
MotoGP officials travelled to Australia to be trackside after last November’s Supercars event. According to South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, that visit was the catalyst for MotoGP’s big move.
“It was after the bp Grand Final and the team at MotoGP saw what the bp Grand Final would look like, that those discussions really ramped up," Premier Malinauskas said on MotorRacing 360.
“It was after the bp Grand Final and the team at MotoGP saw what the bp Grand Final would look like, that those discussions really ramped up,
“To have the senior leadership of MotoGP here secretly behind the scenes… we had them on the track on the Tuesday after the bp Grand Final to see and feel it firsthand.
"And when that meeting happened, I thought this could be real. This is a real chance, and we started to get excited about it.
"So to be in this position now where we're very grateful, bring on 2027."
Adelaide’s MotoGP and Supercars events are set to be spread across separate November weekends, with the new MotoGP race to be held in the weeks leading up to Supercars’ Grand Final.
During last year's finale, the South Australian Government signed a contract with Supercars locking in its Grand Final through 2034.
The bp Adelaide Grand Final is promoted by the South Australian Motorsport Board, which is also set to take on local promotion of the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix.
The 2026 bp Adelaide Grand Final will be held on November 26–29.
