Oct 25 (Reuters) – The final Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was called off on Sunday due to bad weather, ruining the farewell for one of the championship’s most beloved circuits.
It was a crushing blow for the sold-out crowd at Phillip Island, with the Australian Grand Prix moving to the streets of Adelaide next year.
The Moto2 and Moto3 races at Phillip Island were cancelled first and the MotoGP race was delayed by two hours due to the weather, before organisers threw in the towel and finally called it off at 3:40 p.m. local time (0430 GMT).
“Due to limited visibility affecting the operation of the medical helicopter the MotoGP Grand Prix race has been cancelled,” MotoGP said in a statement.
“The MotoGP riders will do a lap behind the safety car and stop on the main straight to greet the fans. Pitlane will open for the farewell lap at 15:45 local time.”
The dark clouds and pelting rain brought down the visibility around the circuit, affecting the medical helicopter, which would take 45 minutes to reach the circuit from mainland Melbourne in the event of an emergency.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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