Rain cancels final MotoGP race at Phillip Island

The final MotoGP race at "Phillip Island" — the Australian Grand Prix — was cancelled on October 25, 2026 after persistent rain and poor visibility made running the event impossible.

Organisers waited for hours in the hope conditions would improve, but the combination of low visibility and the inability to launch a helicopter for medical evacuation forced the decision to abandon the race. The event had originally been scheduled to start at 11:00 local time and was first delayed by an hour.

Earlier in the day the Moto2 and Moto3 races had already been called off. At one point organisers said the pit lane might be opened around 16:00, which the schedule noted was two hours after the planned start for the premier-class race, but the final decision to cancel came one and a half hours after the race was due to begin. Instead of competing, the riders performed farewell laps on the track with their machines.

End of an era

Phillip Island, on an island off Melbourne that has held a permanent place on the calendar since 1997, will step out of the MotoGP schedule next season to make way for a street circuit in Adelaide. Officials cited the ageing nature of the circuit and a push by the championship leader to take races into larger cities as factors in the change.

The track has a history of weather-related disruption. Ocean winds and rain have previously caused major problems — including delays and cancelled sprints — and the last time a premier-class race was abandoned was at Silverstone in 2018 after heavy rainfall left the circuit unsafe. With four rounds remaining this season, the cancellation will also affect the title fight: Marc Marquez leads by 10 points over Jorge Martin of Aprilia, who broke his right wrist in a sprint accident on Saturday, while Marco Bezzecchi sits 50 points behind the Ducati rider.

The MotoGP championship continues next week with the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Photo: press material from the event