Why MotoGP at Phillip Island is so special

This weekend sees MotoGP head to Phillip Island for its annual visit to one of the calendar’s most popular destinations.

Just 10 points splits Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia at the top of the MotoGP standings as the series begins its final triple-header of the 2024 campaign with the title battle coming down to the wire.

Phillip Island kicks off proceedings, with Martin set to be reminded of his strategic gamble that backfired last year in the Australian GP and ultimately harmed his 2023 title hopes.

The Australian venue has been the scene of numerous iconic moments and thrilling races in MotoGP history, with its fast and flowing layout - as well as unpredictable weather - lending a hand in the spectacle.

“I think it’s probably up there, one of my favourites of the year really,” Crash.net's MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren says.

“I’ve been lucky enough to go a couple of times and it’s always Phillip Island, Mugello, those are the sorts of tracks that come up most often on people’s favourites list.

“It’s an old-school track, fantastic. It gets the basics right: the track, the racing, and the location is obviously superb.

“And all the unpredictability of the weather and the drama that we’ve seen over the years with tyres and things like that all just adds to it.

“It’s a fantastic one to go to. It’s not a circuit with massive architecture, it’s not a Qatar or something like that, a big flashy place.

“It’s a place you go to if you love motorcycle racing, certainly for the grand prix, and Phillip Island itself is a fantastic place.

“There’s the bay that you see in the background of Stoner corner. When the sun is shining, it’s like the mediterranean, you can go for a paddle.

“And then the next day, it’s like armageddon. It’s the kind of weather you’d see as a North Sea fisherman, just getting battered! You never know what you’re going to get.

“You can see it coming in, that’s one advantage. For the riders it must be incredible to ride the track, they call it a riders’ track because of the corners, really brave corners.

“But to be sat on the grid, to see the dark clouds gathering must be nerve-wracking. And here we are going into it with a title fight, 10 points between the two. So, all to play for.”

For Crash’s Social Media Manager Jordan Moreland “it’s the unpredictability of Phillip Island that just, I think, draws you to it almost if you are a fan of the sport.

“It’s always one I’ve said to people ‘you have to watch’, no matter what timezone it’s in, you have to watch because something always happens. Down the years we’ve seen so many great battles.”

Lewis Duncan, Crash’s Senior Journalist, adds: “Phillip Island is almost like motorcycle racing distilled down to its purest form.

“It’s not flashy, it’s not superyachts and millionaires and that type of thing. It is kind of what motorcycle racing should be.

“Even in fairly boring eras of the championship Phillip Island has always produced, and hopefully we’ll have the same this weekend.

“We’ve had a lean couple of races really since the summer break, so to have something to get things going would be great. With the championship on the line, 10 points, all that unpredictability, we’ve always seen Phillip Island bite.

“We’ve seen runaway leaders crash, we saw Jorge Martin last year with his tyre gamble.

“It looked like he was on course for a runaway win and it backfires on the last lap. There’s always a lot there.

“The weather, we might get a full weekend, we might only get one day of running. You just never know with Phillip Island. As an organiser it must be a nightmare, but for the fans it is the best thing.”