Casey Stoner questions MotoGP's priorities after controversial Adelaide move
Stoner has given a damning verdict on the move (Photo: Race Pictures)
Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
Casey Stoner likely won’t be working as an Australian Grand Prix ambassador.
The Aussie MotoGP legend has spoken about the decision to switch from Phillip Island to Adelaide, and it’s fair to say that he isn’t a fan.
MotoGP leaves the iconic undulating circuit next year and heads for a street track, a decision that is controversial to say the least.
Riders and pundits have raised potential safety concerns, but for Stoner, the biggest issue is the loss of Phillip Island itself.
The two-time champion won six times at the legendary track and is clearly gutted to see its departure.
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Stoner stunned by decision to abandon Phillip Island
Speaking to MotoGP Australia, he candidly said: "It's a huge disappointment. I honestly never thought that Phillip Island would be taken off the calendar.
"I loved riding there; it's the most beautiful track in the world.
“I understand that some things need to change in Phillip Island. It needs a bit of a revamp of the pits and this sort of area. And we need to sort of make the event a little different, I suppose, to add a bit more of a spruce to it.
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The seaside circuit is one of the most iconic on the calendar (Credit: Red Bull Content Pool)
“But year after year, it produces some of the greatest racing you'll ever see. And to take that sort of thing off the calendar is very, very surprising for me.
“For Phillip Island to be off the calendar is just extremely disappointing for me, and it's something I'll be fighting to get back on the calendar.”
The Adelaide track is yet to be finished, but nine-time champion Marc Marquez has praised its layout during a virtual tour.
MotoGP insist the track will be perfectly safe, with the sport not racing on a street circuit since 1982 due to casualties.
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The designer of the original Adelaide street circuit in Formula 1 is opposed to the new design, and so is Stoner.
“For Phillip Island to be off the calendar is just extremely disappointing for me, and it's something I'll be fighting to get back on the calendar.”- Casey Stoner
Australian MotoGP legend raises Adelaide safety concerns
The former Honda and Ducati rider added: “We're pretty forward-spoken about the safety of sport and things that get overlooked for a spectacle. And these guys' lives are on the line.
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“We don't have four walls around us [like a car]. We don’t have a cockpit. As soon as something goes wrong, you lock a brake, generally you go down and it can get horribly nasty.
“[Or] you get a bit of an oil spill; guys don't expect it. Then you've got the wet, which when you hit the ground it’s almost like you speed up, there's nothing to really slow you down. There's plenty to look at in that sort of space.”
Despite Stoner’s many wins at his home Phillip Island race, he also admitted there is a new reality that its sweeping corners aren’t such a challenge for the current riders.
Stoner says the up and down corners aren't the challenge they once were (Credit: Red Bull Content Pool)
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Stoner believes modern riders miss Phillip Island's true challenge
He explained: “Today's riders don't really know what Phillip Island is like.
“There's too much electronics, and in my opinion, today's riders haven't had the experience of what Phillip Island means on a MotoGP bike.
"They have wings that push them down and all that electronics that don't really let them know what Phillip Island is all about.
"In MotoGP, the hardest thing was putting the power to the ground and making the tyres last. It was a challenge. You had to play with the bike, let it slide.
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“It’s not a circuit where you can relax. Sometimes the front end lets you down, and you don’t know why. My experience allowed me to go fast without taking risks.”
On the most famous moment of his career at the track, he finished: "The MotoGP win in 2011 is hard to top.
“So many things aligned that day: I won the championship, it was my birthday, and it was my fifth consecutive victory.”
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