MotoGP’s Monaco disaster resurfaces as Liberty Media pushes street race return

It sounds ridiculous, but it actually happened. A MotoGP race on the tight, twisting streets of the Prinicipality? Well, you have to go back to 1948 to find the first, and last, Monaco motorcycle race, and the story is every bit as dramatic as you might expect.

In a recent report from Italian outlet CorseDiMoto, the fascinating and tragic story has been once again brought to light, coming amid backlash towards Liberty's plans to reintroduce Adelaide's street circuit in place of Phillip Island.

While the Adelaide track is certainly more fit for purpose than Monaco when it comes to motorcycles, there are still a lot of safety concerns to be answered, particularly in light of the track designer himself speaking out against the plan.

MotoGP has not held a race on a street circuit since 1982 in Imatra, Finland, which is considerably smaller and more open than either Adelaide or Monaco.

The Monaco circuit, world-renowed as a staple of the Formula 1 calendar, hosted its one-off race in 1948 with precisely the tragic consequences one might expect.

After the F1 race, which was won by Nino Farina racing for Maserati, the bikes took to the track. One detail which really highlights the extraordinary nature of the era is the fact that Gilera Saturnos competed in both the car and motorcycle race on the same day.

The race was won by Italy's Aldo Brini, but the event was somewhat marred by the tragic death of Norman Linnecar, who crashed heavily at the now-legendary Saint Devotte corner.

Unfortunately, it was only in the wake of such a tragedy that the circuit was declared unfit for motorcycle racing, but the race will be remembered as a significant and novel event from which future generations could learn.