However, the recent signing of the agreement between the Australian Grand Prix Corporation ( AGPC ) and Liberty Media , owner of the exploitation rights of the Formula 1 World Championship, which covers this test between the months of March and April until 2035, means that the great MotoGP prize has to take place at the end of the season.
In this way, the aspirations of the entire World Cup paddock vanish, which has been requesting a change of date for years, so as not to have to face the low temperatures that usually occur in September and October at the Phillip Island circuit , south of Melbourne .
Last weekend, not only the cold –there were sessions that were held with an ambient temperature of 14º– conditioned the way of approaching the test, but also the strong gusts of wind, especially on Friday.
“The MotoGP World Championship has blocked the race in Qatar as the start of the championship, so that prevents us from being able to race in January or February. In addition, we have Formula 1 at the beginning of the season, and that forces us to place a margin so that one test (F1) and the other (MotoGP) breathe, ”explains Andrew Westacott , CEO of AGPC, in statements to Motorsport. com .
“So, the right time to hold the MotoGP race is now. It is the gap that fits us the most, both for us and for Dorna”, adds the executive.
For Westacott, the rains that accumulate at this time in Phillip Island may well appear in March and April. “The weather on Phillip Island changes a lot throughout the week. One can risk it and think that the weather of the last weekend of October will be more favorable than that of the first weekend of September. But I think that these dates have already become a tradition, in the series of transoceanic races of the championship”, emphasizes the head of AGPC.
