Jack Miller: Phillip Island “needs to be on the MotoGP calendar”

Jack Miller is adamant that Phillip Island “needs to be on the MotoGP calendar”.

The Australian circuit’s contract with the AGPC expires at the end of next season, with a petition recently launched to try and secure a new deal amid rumours that MotoGP could seek a more accessible mainland venue.

Phillip Island first hosted the then 500cc class in 1989, when Wayne Gardner claimed a memorable victory on home soil. More recently, Casey Stoner thrilled local fans with six consecutive wins between 2007 and 2012.

Miller, now the only Australian on the MotoGP grid, won at the scenic Phillip Island venue as a Moto3 rider in 2014 and stood on the premier-class podium for Ducati in 2019.

The Pramac Yamaha rider again starred in front of his home crowd in October, securing a front-row qualifying position before narrowly missing out on a Sprint podium during a last-lap battle with Pedro Acosta.

Although Miller crashed early in the grand prix, race day still thrilled the Australian fans, with Joel Kelso finishing second in Moto3 and Senna Agius claiming a maiden Moto2 victory.

But rumours over Phillip Island’s future were already swirling, prompting Miller to respond:

“I think it's a fantastic event. I think it needs to be on the calendar, absolutely. You look at the crowd out there.

“It's such an isolated country. It's such a vast country. So people who are here aren't just from Melbourne; they've come great distances to watch the race.

“Some people are coming from Western Australia, which is the equivalent of going from the top end of Europe to the bottom.

“They travel far and wide and spend a lot of their money to come to a race. 

"So it means a lot for them to have a race in Australia, and I think Phillip Island is one of the most spectacular circuits on the calendar, as we saw with the racing in all categories.

“It needs to be on the calendar, and I'm sure it will be.”

This year's Australian MotoGP saw 91,245 weekend fans and a Sunday crowd of 37,192. 

Attendance was not helped by weather warnings raising the prospect of the main GP race being moved to Saturday, for the second time in three years, although it eventually went ahead as planned.

The only venue with a smaller Sunday crowd this season was Qatar (22,565), but Balaton Park (32,520), Silverstone (40,518), COTA (45,927), Motegi (46,303) and Austria (49,901) also had a sub-50k Sunday figure.