Japan GP winner – Dani Pedrosa – and teammate Marc Marquez are already en route to Phillip Island for the next MotoGP race.

The Phillip Island circuit remains one of the favourites with the World’s top riders. Located next to the Southern Ocean, the often windy circuit is a flowing blend of seven left-handers and five right-handers, with tricky, iconic sections like Lukey Heights thrown into the mix. The 4.448km circuit, located 140km south of Melbourne, hosted its first motorcycle GP in 1989 and has been an indispensable fixture ever since.

Both riders have had mixed results here in the past, Dani celebrating a solitary win here in 2005 (250cc), a 3rd place finish in 2009 (MotoGP) and a 2nd place in 2013 (MotoGP). Marc also only has one win to his name here in 2010 (125cc), and two 3rd place finishes in Moto2 (2011, 2012). Both will be eager to put last year behind them, after the team suffered a double DNF.

Marc Marquez  - Championship Standing: 3rd - 197 points

"It wasn’t a great weekend in Japan but it could have been a lot worse. With the wet conditions it was not such a stress on my injured hand, so this is a positive. Now we go to Australia and I really look forward to this weekend because Phillip Island is one of my favourite circuits. I think it will be a better track for us than Motegi so we will work hard from FP1 on Friday to try and find the best setup. Now I will try to rest my hand for a few days as this track is very physical with many hard and fast changes in direction."

Dani Pedrosa  - Championship Standing: 5th - 154 points

"It was a great result in Motegi, after a difficult weekend. I am feeling really positive and we have good momentum as we head to Australia for the next race. Phillip Island can be tricky due to the weather conditions so we will work hard and try to get a good qualifying position. It’s difficult to know how the race will play out and we will have to see how our bike works there this year. Anyway we will be fighting hard and hope to be on the podium again!"




Phillip Island, the self-styled home of Australian motorsport, is steeped in motor racing tradition, with the first car races having been held there on public roads in the 1920s. The first motorcycle races took place in 1931 and a permanent track was built in 1956. The circuit fell into disrepair during the late 70s and early 80s until it was bought in 1985 and given a AUS $5m facelift. MotoGP returned in 1989 and 1990 before becoming a regular fixture once more from 1997 onwards.

The Phillip Island circuit is blessed with breathtaking scenery and beautiful ocean views and, as one of the fastest, most fluid, tracks on the calendar, it continues to provide some of the most spectacular racing in the MotoGP season.