I have tried to explain the reasons behind MotoGP’s decision to move the Australian Grand Prix away from Phillip Island and into an urban setting on a number of occasions. But shortly after I published this piece on how the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group is about to announce that the race has been moved from Phillip Island to Adelaide, MSEG issued the press release reproduced below, explaining its reasoning.
The press release contains the following key sentence:
MotoGP is accelerating its evolution from a traditional motorsport championship into a fan-first global entertainment brand.
That, in a nutshell, is it.
The MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group press release appears below in full. I did not download the 24GB of video assets which accompany it:
MotoGP unveils Wired Different 2026 Season Campaign
The world’s most magnetic sport returns with a bold new global campaign celebrating the mindset, machines and moments that make MotoGP unlike anything else on earth
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
After a record-breaking 2025 season that drew 3.6 million fans trackside, MotoGP today launches its 2026 season campaign: Wired Different.
This is not just a campaign. It is a statement. Wired Different captures the raw DNA of MotoGP – riders who make split-second decisions at over 360 km/h, teams who chase perfection down to the smallest data point, and fans who feel every overtake, every save, every collision as if they were on the bike themselves.
