The arrival of the Adelaide street circuit on the MotoGP calendar has sparked debate, with some wondering whether it will be the first of many. Formula 1 has cleverly exploited the fact that it can race in cities, bringing the races to the public rather than the other way around, as is the case with traditional tracks. The new addition for the 2026 championship is Madring, a circuit designed in the Spanish capital, in the IFEMA exhibition center area.
What used to be Dorna (and is now MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group) has always had close ties to Spain, and Carmelo Ezpeleta was asked if it would be possible to see two-wheelers in Madrid: "No, we don't have the safety conditions we need," was his blunt response, as reported by Marca.
This does not mean that the world championship doesn't want to get closer to cities."MotoGP is improving all the time. Talking about city circuits and non-city circuits is not a distinction. I think we are moving towards races closer to cities. Goiânia is a permanent circuit located in the city center, and next year we are going to Buenos Aires, another permanent circuit located in the city center. This is the way forward," explained the MotoGP boss.
Ezpeleta guaranteed that the deciding factor will always be the safety of the circuits and spoke out in favor of Adelaide.
"It's a safe race, not a city race," he said. "We're going to a place that we believe has all the characteristics to be a fantastic track, in the middle of a city, but with all the safety features. "
Following this line, he pointed the finger at Phillip Island, which will be removed from the calendar.
"I hope we won't have any more problems with wind and rain. Now it's easy to say that it was a very nice circuit, which is true, but safety comes first. I would like to remind you that Suzuka, which is a beautiful circuit, is not safe, and therefore we cannot continue to go there," he concluded.