Moto GP Phillip Island
Discussion
We emigrated to NZ a few years ago and are planning to go to Melbourne so thinking may as well go in October when the moto gp is at Phillip island.
Anyone ever been and got any pointers as to where is best to view from and best way of getting to the circuit as will probably hotel in Melbourne CBD. Car hire or coach transfer as circuit is a couple of hrs away.
Anyone ever been and got any pointers as to where is best to view from and best way of getting to the circuit as will probably hotel in Melbourne CBD. Car hire or coach transfer as circuit is a couple of hrs away.
I'm a Phillip Island local and my favourite viewing spot is on the outside of Turn 11. From there you can see the bikes coming over Lukey Heights and braking into MG and then opening the taps through two fast corners onto the straight.
Other than that, anywhere near Honda corner is a good spot for watching overtaking, Southern Loop is fantastic for seeing the bikes leant right over with the sea as the backdrop.
It's such a beautiful circuit, it's genuinely hard to go wrong as long as the weather is playing ball. Make sure you allow plenty of time to get into the circuit though. The bridge onto the island is a choke point and traffic can back right out to the Woolamai/Kilcunda junctions, which is an hour or so of schlepping.
(We run some of our mag events out of PI and it's a bit of a fave for us)
Other than that, anywhere near Honda corner is a good spot for watching overtaking, Southern Loop is fantastic for seeing the bikes leant right over with the sea as the backdrop.
It's such a beautiful circuit, it's genuinely hard to go wrong as long as the weather is playing ball. Make sure you allow plenty of time to get into the circuit though. The bridge onto the island is a choke point and traffic can back right out to the Woolamai/Kilcunda junctions, which is an hour or so of schlepping.
(We run some of our mag events out of PI and it's a bit of a fave for us)
We stayed just off the island at a chalet in a camping site, was fantastic. As mentioned, traffic can be a bit hard work, but certainly no worse than a bad day at Donnington or UK circuits and the island manages it very well. We were even stopped on the way out for a breath test - we had a hire car. Also, don't forget to visit the penguins the evening before - my wife's demand for the trip.
We did practise and race day. Bear in mind we had a <2yr old daughter and push chair. Practise we walked the whole circuit and as previously mentioned, the view as they come over Lukey heights is seriously impressive, as is Stoner's corner and the run through Siberia - but it gets its name for it's conditions! My parents did a weekend there from the UK and back and they watched at Siberia, they were cold for two days.
For race day, as we had our daughter we parked on the grass at turn 1. This affords you a view of start/finish, southern loop, honda hairpin. So lot's of action, the tea stall closeby and then at the end of the race we were able to push the buggy up the start/finish straight to see Rossi on the podium (win) and Bradley Smith take 3rd. What a podium. Cal binned it like many others at Honda hairpin.
We've been lucky and been to a few overseas races, Phillip Island is without a doubt the most hospitable, friendly locals, accomodating for the mass invasion and we all know the circuit is Cadwell on steroids. So impressive watching them through many parts of the track. Plus, like Mugello, the chance to get to the podium at the end.
The big advantage though is that the crowds simply aren't as large, so moving around is easy if you're prepared to put in the leg work, especially on Saturday. We took the time to go to the pits on practise day and met Cal, Randy Mamola and got all the photos etc. Then on our flight home Scott Redding entertained our daughter for most of it. Rebat was a grumpy sod, but Scott was such a gentleman. You can tell, we had an awesome time at PI.
Standing at the fence at turn one at the apex as they peel in full chat was as impressive as being stood on the outside of turn one braking point at Mugello. You're so close and it just shows you how much these guys are heroes for what they do. Seriously impressive levels of commitment and skill.
We did practise and race day. Bear in mind we had a <2yr old daughter and push chair. Practise we walked the whole circuit and as previously mentioned, the view as they come over Lukey heights is seriously impressive, as is Stoner's corner and the run through Siberia - but it gets its name for it's conditions! My parents did a weekend there from the UK and back and they watched at Siberia, they were cold for two days.
For race day, as we had our daughter we parked on the grass at turn 1. This affords you a view of start/finish, southern loop, honda hairpin. So lot's of action, the tea stall closeby and then at the end of the race we were able to push the buggy up the start/finish straight to see Rossi on the podium (win) and Bradley Smith take 3rd. What a podium. Cal binned it like many others at Honda hairpin.
We've been lucky and been to a few overseas races, Phillip Island is without a doubt the most hospitable, friendly locals, accomodating for the mass invasion and we all know the circuit is Cadwell on steroids. So impressive watching them through many parts of the track. Plus, like Mugello, the chance to get to the podium at the end.
The big advantage though is that the crowds simply aren't as large, so moving around is easy if you're prepared to put in the leg work, especially on Saturday. We took the time to go to the pits on practise day and met Cal, Randy Mamola and got all the photos etc. Then on our flight home Scott Redding entertained our daughter for most of it. Rebat was a grumpy sod, but Scott was such a gentleman. You can tell, we had an awesome time at PI.
Standing at the fence at turn one at the apex as they peel in full chat was as impressive as being stood on the outside of turn one braking point at Mugello. You're so close and it just shows you how much these guys are heroes for what they do. Seriously impressive levels of commitment and skill.
Get the coach. It's by far the easiest way to get there, especially if you're staying in Melbourne CBD: https://www.motogp.com.au/tickets/catch-a-coach
Jukebox Timebomb said:
I'm a Phillip Island local and my favourite viewing spot is on the outside of Turn 11. From there you can see the bikes coming over Lukey Heights and braking into MG and then opening the taps through two fast corners onto the straight.
Echoing this, it's a great spot. Having said that I tend to spend the day slowly doing a lap of the track, watching the warm ups, support races and smaller classes from various spots then finding a good spot at Turn 10/11 for the main race.Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff