Phillip Island date shift targeted for 2021 MotoGP season
Phillip Island could move to the front end of the 2021 MotoGP calendar, with series organiser Dorna pushing for a date change in a bid for better weather.
A run of cold, windy spring conditions during recent AGP weekends has seen the October date increasingly fall out of favour in the MotoGP paddock, with riders leading calls to change the date year after year.
Last month's Phillip Island race was particularly weather-affected, with qualifying postponed until Sunday morning after severe winds knocked Miguel Oliveira off his KTM during Free Practice 4.
While a shift to the start of the season has long been Dorna's preference the idea has met resistance form the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, which would prefer to avoid two high-profile events – the Albert Park Formula 1 race and the Phillip Island MotoGP round – running within weeks of each other.
However, it appears Dorna will make a fresh push to get the change across the line, the late October date set to stay for 2020 before a potential move to March or April in 2021.
"We are assessing the possibility of bringing it forward in 2021," Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta told Motorsport.com. "It's a possibility, although it is not yet confirmed."
An AGPC spokesperson told Motorsport.com that there has been no formal approach about a 2021 change: "We've heard nothing at all along those lines, and with the 2020 calendar already confirmed, we're looking forward to delivering another great event next October."
Should the change go ahead, it would be a popular outcome for a rider group that was losing hope that it would ever happen.
"Every year we talk about the same thing because we, the riders, offer our opinion on what would be better from a sporting point of view," said Andrea Dovizioso.
"We can be lucky and get a sunny day [in October], but most of the time it's bad. The problem is that we don't have the power to push hard enough for a change."
Rossi "lost the podium" in Malaysia at Turn 1
Miller unhappy with "strange" Sepang 'suicide moves'
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.