Rain washes out Phillip Island's farewell: Australian MotoGP called off

The Australian MotoGP was due to be held for the last time at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. But heavy rain and falling visibility forced organisers to cancel the race altogether. For the sellout crowd, the day therefore ended in disappointment rather than celebration.

Rain had been lashing the circuit area since Sunday morning. The Moto2 and Moto3 races were cancelled first. The main MotoGP race was then delayed by two hours in the hope the weather would improve. When it did not, the race was officially called off at 3:40pm local time (04:40 GMT).

MotoGP said in a statement that the race was cancelled because limited visibility was affecting the operation of the medical helicopter. In an emergency, that helicopter would take about 45 minutes to reach the circuit from mainland Melbourne, which was not acceptable on safety grounds.

Even without a race, the riders did not want to send the fans home entirely empty-handed. They completed a lap behind the safety car and stopped on the main straight to greet the crowd. The rain-soaked fans who had waited responded to that gesture.

The Phillip Island circuit was known as one of the most beloved venues on the world championship calendar. Apart from two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, racing had been held at the seaside track for around 30 years. From next year, the Australian Grand Prix moves to the streets of Adelaide.

Some of Australian motorcycling's most memorable moments were created at this track. Two-time world champion Casey Stoner won there six times in succession from 2007 to 2012, while Mick Doohan sealed his fifth and final world title with victory in the 1998 race at the same circuit.

Home racer Jack Miller tried to entertain his supporters in his own way. Alongside a series of tricks on the wet track, he performed a stand-up wheelie over the finish line, before heading to the grandstand and throwing his gloves and boots into the crowd.

Miller could not hide his disappointment afterwards. The Pramac Racing rider said it was a tough pill to swallow. He said he had been praying for rain all weekend, the rain came, but the organisation was not enough to get the racing going. The fans, he said, deserved better.

The 31-year-old is ending a MotoGP career of more than a decade at the end of this season. Next season he joins the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in the World Superbike Championship. That made losing his final home race to the rain especially painful for him.

The cancellation also affected the championship fight. Seven-time champion Marc Marquez lost the chance to extend his lead in the standings in this race. His title rival Jorge Martin had been declared unfit to race after fracturing his wrist.

Martin had held the championship lead heading into the weekend, but after failing to finish Saturday's sprint following a gruesome crash, he now finds himself 10 points behind Marquez. On Sunday, his Aprilia team said he would not travel back to Spain for treatment, boosting the 2024 champion's hopes of racing at next week's Malaysian Grand Prix and keeping the title fight alive.

Notably, in 2023 MotoGP had moved the Grand Prix at this circuit forward to Saturday with the sprint scheduled for Sunday, although that sprint was eventually called off as well. That strategy was not revived this time. With the farewell event washed out, Phillip Island's long chapter ended unfinished.