FOI shows Premier’s MotoGP meeting mission
Diary notes released under Freedom of Information show the Premier was meeting key players in December last year ahead of wrestling the MotoGP from Victoria’s Phillip Island.
Key meetings with motor sports leaders were held with Premier Peter Malinauskas in December and January this year as plans were set in motion to snaffle the MotoGP from Victoria.
InDaily received a copy of the Premier’s weekly diary after lodging a Freedom of Information application for dates from December 14 last year until January 12 this year.
It showed that Premier Peter Malinauskas was scheduled to meet the SA Motor Sport Board in the Premier’s office from 8.30am until 9am on Wednesday, December 17.
The next entry on January 5 this year showed that he was scheduled to meet South Australian Motor Sport Board chair Andrew Daniels and chief executive Mark Warren “re MotoGP” in the Premier’s Victoria Square office from 1pm until 1.30pm.
On Thursday morning, after several stories revealed the MotoGP was set to be moved to SA, Malinauskas was at the Riverbank Footbridge to reveal details of the deal to hold the MotoGP in Adelaide city streets from 2027.
He was accompanied by MotoGP chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta.
Malinauskas said it marked the return of international racing to the original Adelaide Grand Prix Street Circuit where the Formula One Grand Prix was held until it was taken over by Victoria in the 1990s – and it would be the first time a MotoGP-era was held in a downtown circuit.
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While he did not reveal the cost of luring the event to Adelaide or staging it on the circuit, his media release said in 2025, global exposure combined with tourism and hospitality of Grand Prix events delivered an average of €130m ($217m) in economic impact to local economies.
MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta said “bringing MotoGP to Adelaide marks a major milestone in the evolution of our championship”.
“This city has a world‑class reputation for hosting major events, and the opportunity to design a purpose‑built circuit in the heart of the city is something truly unique in our sport,” he said.
