Adelaide in chaos, protests against the new MotoGP Grand Prix: the reason is unbelievable

A real scandal is breaking out in Australia involving MotoGP. The Adelaide circuit is already making plenty of headlines…

The controversy over the farewell to Phillip Island and the move to Adelaide hasn’t really died down yet, and now the new city circuit on the MotoGP calendar is back in the spotlight. As reported by our colleagues at Paddock-GP, about a week ago the local radio station FiveAA revealed, through confidential documents now made public, that the circuit development plan would require the felling of hundreds of trees (200–400) in Victoria Park, in stark contrast to the previously announced “only” 45. Since then, controversy, petitions, protests, and demonstrations have not subsided in the city. For a green city that values natural spaces, the issue has become very thorny for Adelaide, as well as for MotoGP SEG and the FIM, who will be called upon to comment on the matter. Especially after all the slogans about reducing pollution, in particular the farewell to fossil fuels from 2027 in favor of sustainable biofuels and e-fuels.

According to the documents cited by the Australian broadcaster, later echoed by 7News Adelaide, the state government had initially estimated the removal of around 45 significant trees. But it seems that subsequent reports from the Adelaide City Council and leaked internal documents indicate that it will instead be necessary to cut down between 200 and 400 trees, many of them centuries old, to meet the safety standards imposed by the FIM regarding, for example, run-off areas or track width. Far less would have been enough to spark a public outcry: with “Stop the Chop,” thousands of environmentalists and ordinary citizens took to the streets and then showed their dissent by tying yellow ribbons to tree trunks. A parliamentary committee is now examining a specific popular petition with 50,000 signatures. After the grand announcements, everything is therefore at a standstill: there is no final layout, and the opposition calls it a deliberate government action to conceal the situation, while the Adelaide City Council has announced staunch opposition to the MotoGP event. Updates are awaited—we’ll see how this ends, as this novelty already seems to have started off on the wrong foot.

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