Pedro Acosta reacts to Phillip Island’s removal: 'one of the few legendary circuits left'

Acosta, who is currently one of the stand-out talents on the grid and has been linked with a move to Ducati alongside Marc Marquez, took questions ahead of the pre-season Buriram test in Thailand this weekend.

Among other discussions about the coming weekend and season ahead, Acosta was also asked his opinion on the decision to scrap Australia's Phillip Island circuit in plans which propose MotoGP's first-ever street circuit.

"A race on a street circuit sounds pretty good, knowing how much I love the Isle of Man,” he said, "But it’s strange. Phillip Island is one of the few legendary circuits left. It’s quite sad to lose it. [...] I think it's the only legendary circuit still on the calendar, one of the really old ones. It’s quite sad to lose it and see that many [tracks] could be dropped from the calendar."

The majority of MotoGP fans and riders appear to fall on the same side of the issue, with nine-time world champion and motorsport legend Valentino Rossi also echoing similar sentiments.

VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio also gave a similar assessment, describing the loss of "the most beautiful track in the world" as a "pity".

Despite the best efforts of the Victoria state government to retain the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, the new track which will be adapted from the Adelaide V8 supercar street circuit already appears to be a done deal.