PHILLIP ISLAND HOSTS ITS FINAL MOTOGP ROUND AS TITLE RIVALS ARRIVE LEVEL
19 Oct 2026·
MotoGP’s 2026 Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for 23–25 October at Phillip Island, the circuit’s final appearance on the championship calendar for the foreseeable future. The event is moving to a new Adelaide street circuit in 2027.
Phillip Island first hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1989 and, apart from cancellations in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid, has staged it every year since 1997. This year’s round is also a pivotal stop in the title fight: Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez are separated by just two points after Aprilia did not fully capitalise on its advantage in Indonesia.
Both title contenders missed last year’s Phillip Island race through injury. Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez instead delivered an Aprilia one-two across the Sprint and Grand Prix. Marquez returns with a strong record at the circuit, having won there four times, including on his only previous Ducati outing, with Gresini in 2024. Fernandez, Johann Zarco and Alex Rins are the other current riders with a Phillip Island victory. Australian Jack Miller is set for his final home MotoGP appearance before switching to WorldSBK next season. Weather may also shape the weekend, with sunshine forecast for Friday practice.
Track action begins with two MotoGP practice sessions on Friday. Saturday brings final practice, qualifying and the Sprint, followed by warm-up and the Grand Prix on Sunday. All times below are local, with UK times in parentheses:
Friday, 23 October: FP1 at 10:45am (12:45am UK); practice at 3:00pm (5:00am UK).
Saturday, 24 October: FP2 at 10:10am (12:10am UK); qualifying at 10:50am (12:50am UK); Sprint at 3:00pm (5:00am UK).
Sunday, 25 October: warm-up at 8:40am (11:40pm UK on Saturday); Grand Prix at 2:00pm (3:00am UK).
MotoGP VideoPass will stream every session. A full-season subscription costs €148.99 with Timing Pass or €139.99 without live data; a monthly pass is €29.99. In the UK, TNT Sports will show every session, including Moto2 and Moto3, through HBO Max, with subscriptions starting at £27.99 per month depending on the plan. Crash.net will provide live text coverage of MotoGP track sessions, except warm-up.