As someone who went to Phillip island last year and had an AMAZING life changing experience I want to pop open my coffin to publicly say I do understand the decision to not race there anymore.
Don’t get me wrong it’s the best thing you can ever experience. The viewer accessibility is insanely good because of the natural grass banks to sit on where you can see 80% of the track + screens. Not to mention the racecraft, speed and corner skill is so entertaining I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was a really privilege to be at Phillip Island, but to get there, you have to be really fucking dedicated.
For one, it really is miles away and accomodation on the island is both extremely limited and extremely expansive. The vast majority of the people who went were people who have clearly been going for years and years, and can afford to split a 10 bedroom airbnb with a large group. (It’s like $1000-$3000 a night). If you are a smaller group, or travelling by yourself, it is extremely difficult to find anything reasonable. You will also struggle to find accommodation if you only want to arrive on Saturday morning, and leave Sunday after the race as most of the accommodation on and around the island only allows you to book Thursday-Monday making it even more expensive.
But even if this is within your budget, and you’re willing to stay four nights on the island, you would’ve had to book your accommodation A YEAR IN ADVANCE. I looked at accommodation for a solo traveller for this year’s race about a month after the 2025 race weekend and it was already sold out, it’s that serious.
So if you don’t arrange plans in time to book that accomodation, there are buses (that aren’t cheap themselves) to and from the island every day but it’s two and a half hours each way, meaning I had to wake up at 5am in my hostel in the city, just to make it to the track by 9am. Similarly, leaving in the late afternoon meant I didn’t get back into the city till well into the evening. It’s long fucking days.
I had the time of my life because I love this sport. I’d already traveled from New Zealand by myself, I wasn’t hampered from a little wear and tear.
But the way the whole event is set up is so insanely inaccessible you really have to be stupidly obsessed with the sport to go those lengths. Whether it’s the stupid long bus journeys, or booking accomodation so far in advance, or knowing you already have a community around you every year that can cover the cost of an airbnb. If you are a family looking for a fun activity, or new fans wanting to just check it out you will NOT be making it to Phillip Island, it’s just not for you.
Liberty media clearly recognised this immediately and decided to do something about it which is why I understand the decision. At the end of the day I am an advocate for the sport and want to see it grow. However like everyone else I’m extremely sad to see Phillip Island go and I know it’s gonna be a dearly dearly missed on the calendar. Unfortunately, getting rid of it was probably the most logical call.
Whether Adelaide is the right place to move it too is a whole other conversation. One that is more dependent on the race organisers recognising that safety MUST come first. If they do that I personally take no issue.
snowghoul
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