Casey Stoner plans to 'fight' for Phillip Island to return to MotoGP schedule

Retired MotoGP star Casey Stoner says he will be "fighting" to see Phillip Island return to the schedule despite plans to switch the Australian Grand Prix to Adelaide from 2027.

Phillip Island is undoubtedly the spiritual home of the race. Disregarding COVID-19 interruptions and the six editions hosted by Eastern Creek in the 1990s, the Victorian track has staged the race every year since 1989.

But this year's Australian GP, in two weeks, is set to be the last there for the foreseeable future. MotoGP has already included the new Adelaide 'street circuit' event on the 2027 calendar and most believe that Phillip Island's days as a MotoGP venue are done.

Australian hero Stoner, who won at the track six times in a row from 2007 to 2012, says he won't accept that without a fight.

Speaking in a promotional YouTube video with fellow former MotoGP rider Chris Vermeulen, the two-time world champion said: “For Phillip Island to be off the calendar is just extremely disappointing for me and it's something I'll be fighting to get back on the calendar.”

Casey Stoner leads Nicky Hayden on his way to Australian GP glory in 2008

Stoner was happy to admit that the 'old-school' circuit some way out of Melbourne could use some upgrades, but didn't think that was a reason to abandon it in favour of the move to South Australia's capital.

“I understand that some things need to change in Phillip Island. It needs a bit of a revamp of the pits and this sort of area. And we need to make the event a little different, I suppose, to add a bit more of a spruce to it.

“But year after year, it produces some of the greatest racing you'll ever see. And to take that sort of thing off the calendar is very, very surprising for me. And to replace it with a street circuit isn't something I really agree with.”

Quite how Stoner can achieve a return to the track is unclear, but it's not the first time a MotoGP star has spoken about personal influence over the calendar in recent weeks. Current rider Toprak Razgatlioglu said at the Austrian Grand Prix that he was pushing for a race in his homeland, Turkey, to be included on the schedule once again.

MotoGPToprak Razgatlioglu 'working on' return of Turkish MotoGP for 2028

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