It wouldn’t be Phillip Island if we weren’t talking about the weather. The 2023 race was moved from Sunday to Saturday because of an approaching storm – a decision entirely validated by the horrific downpour that forced the cancellation of the relocated sprint, and the red flagging of the Moto2 race after just 9 laps. In 2025, it is the wind which the riders are worried about, a perennial problem at the Island.
Gusts of nearly 60 km/h are forecast for Sunday, and after windy conditions today, there were a number of riders calling for Sunday’s GP to be switched to Saturday, replacing the sprint, as Dorna had done in 2023. Together with the bumps which are sprouting from Phillip Island’s new surface, some riders feel it is going to be too dangerous to race on Sunday.
Pecco Bagnaia was the main voice leading the call. “The track is very, very bumpy, and the wind today was already on the limit,” the Ducati Lenovo rider said. “It looks like this will be the day with least amount of wind. Sunday could be very tricky like it was 2 years ago so it will be important to speak well in the Safety Commission and try to find some solutions.”
