Adelaide MotoGP circuit gets 'boring' tag despite enthusiasm for heritage elements

Adelaide's new $96 million MotoGP track has received mixed reviews from motorsport fans and riders, with some fearing a "boring" race and others lamenting an overhaul of the Supercars circuit.But the 4.13km track in Adelaide's eastern parklands has been broadly endorsed from a rider safety perspective, with hopes the city setting will provide a "special experience" for racing fans.Meanwhile, Adelaide City Council's concerns about the new circuit appear to be softening, after the Malinauskas government offered to fund a number of infrastructure upgrades in the eastern parklands as part of its overall MotoGP package.The state government on Sunday unveiled the 4.13km circuit which will host both the MotoGP and Supercars Grand Final from November 2027.The redesigned track revives several elements of Adelaide's old Formula One street circuit, including the straight down Rundle Road and a corner near the state-heritage listed Stag Hotel.It also brings back a right-hand turn onto Dequetteville Terrace known as "Brewery Bend", which will feed into a 900-metre-long straight that was also once part of the old Formula One track."Stag Corner" will return as part of the new Adelaide circuit design. (Supplied: SA government)But the new design loses some elements revered by Supercars fans, including the daunting high-speed turn eight from Bartels Road onto Dequetteville Terrace.The "staircase" — a succession of 90-degree right and left handers linking Wakefield Road and Hutt Street — has also been ditched, while the Senna Chicane will be realigned.Stefan Bartholomaeus, the managing editor of motorsport news site Speedcafe, wrote on Monday it was an Adelaide Street Circuit "but not as we know and love it".He said the reaction from motorsport fans had been "mixed to say the least".A map of the Adelaide MotoGP street circuit, which will also be adapted for the Supercars. (Supplied: SA Government)"Uprooting the Senna Chicane feels particularly sacrilegious, given the F1 heritage it represents and its key place in the Supercars spectacle," he wrote in Speedcafe."The upside for those with a nostalgic bent is the return of the East End and the images of racing taking place at the foot of the market facade and Stag Hotel."'Much more boring than Phillip Island'The redesigned Adelaide circuit will replace Victoria's Phillip Island on the MotoGP calendar next year.The SA Motorsport Board expects the inaugural Adelaide event to at least double Phillip Island's 91,000 spectators.But the move has been a hard pill for some MotoGP fans to swallow given Phillip Island is a "glorious circuit that gives us fantastic racing every year", according to freelance MotoGP journalist Simon Patterson."We're going to get a much more moderated performance in Adelaide," he said.This year's Grand Prix at Phillip Island will be the last before it moves to Adelaide in 2027. (Martin Philbey: AAP)Mr Patterson asked several MotoGP riders for their thoughts on the new circuit after the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain on Sunday.Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia said the Adelaide track was "difficult to imagine from a video" but it "looks fun at the moment"."The layout looks not too bad [but] surely not like Phillip Island, much more boring than Phillip Island," he said.Italian rider Luca Marini said a "lot of effort" was going into meeting the safety requirements, including runoff areas and new tarmac."They are investing a lot on this project, and I felt the commitment from MotoGP to make everything work," he said."From our side, perfect. We want just that it is another nice track that we enjoy to ride and with the safety conditions that we request as always."Mr Patterson said the reaction from MotoGP fans had been "better than expected" given the safety concerns of the circuit had largely been addressed."So, there was kind of the initial relief, he said."But that has kind of transitioned very quickly into, 'oh, this is not going to make for very interesting racing'."Which means they're going to have to work doubly hard to make the event better."He also said he had seen "quite a bit of discontent" from Supercars fans who feel they are "losing a better circuit in Adelaide to basically make compromises to allow us to come and race on their track"."They've managed to kind of piss off two hardcore fanbases at the expense of trying to attract new fans to both."Former British motorcycle racer Mat Oxley, a veteran MotoGP journalist said the Adelaide circuit "looks more flowing" than he thought it would.The SA Motorsport Board is expecting more than 180,000 people to attend the first MotoGP event in Adelaide. (Supplied: SA government)MotoGP riders will reach a top speed of 343km/h while the Supercars will get to 265km/h, according to government estimates."There's a couple of straights, and you need straights where people can get in the draft of a bike in front and jump out of the draft behind and out-brake at the next corner," he said."The factor of being in a city environment, surrounded by buildings and skyscrapers … will make it a very special experience without a doubt, despite my reservations from an environmental point of view."'The government has listened'Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith has been one of the most prominent sceptics of the MotoGP circuit. Before it was released she said it would "irrevocably and permanently" change the city's parklands.The design released on Sunday revealed at least 377 trees will be cut down, including 42 significant trees. They will be replaced on a 10:1 basis.The Malinauskas government has also agreed to fund a series of infrastructure projects in the eastern parklands.This includes an upgraded soccer field in front of Victoria Park's heritage grandstand, a 1.2 km unobstructed cycling loop and a new 5km running loop.New water and electricity infrastructure will also be provided for the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Gluttony, as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival.The Malinauskas government has agreed to fund a number of council projects in the eastern parklands as part of its MotoGP package. (Supplied: SA government)Dr Lomax-Smith said these elements had "softened a lot of the individual antagonism"."There will always be people, and to some extent myself, who would look at a parkland and say a motorbike race in a parklands is not appropriate," she told 891 ABC Adelaide."But having said that, the government has listened."Dr Lomax-Smith, who was briefed on the plans by Premier Peter Malinauskas on Monday, said the government had agreed to fund projects that were already in the council's Adelaide Park Lands Management Plan."We had these things in there and we thought they would never be funded," she said."My impression is that the things we took to them and mentioned have all been in some way accommodated."Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith says the government has listened to concerns raised about the MotoGP circuit. (ABC News: Sophie Holder)Mr Malinauskas said his briefing to council was "generally speaking well-received".The premier was speaking at an event to mark Rundle Mall's 50th anniversary, and drew a comparison between the creation of the shopping strip and the MotoGP circuit."The truth is there is any number of different projects that South Australia has embarked on over the years that are always met with controversy at the time," he said."Rundle Mall was vehemently opposed by elements of the Adelaide City Council, just like Adelaide Oval, just like the O-Bahn Tunnel, just like almost anything that seems to be a bit of a change."But in time, people see that you get a better result."