Australian MotoGP called off by rain at Phillip Island; Marquez stays 10 points ahead of injured Martin

The Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island was cancelled on Sunday 25 October 2026 after heavy rain and low cloud left the medical helicopter unable to fly, Al Jazeera reported. The race was delayed by two hours and called off at 3:40pm local time, which was 9:40am PKT. The Moto2 and Moto3 races had already been scrapped.

The helicopter would need about 45 minutes to reach the circuit from mainland Melbourne in an emergency, and organisers would not race without it.

The title race after Phillip Island

• Marc Marquez leads the championship by 10 points from Jorge Martin.
• Martin arrived as the leader but crashed out of Saturday's sprint and was ruled unfit for Sunday with a fractured wrist, so the points swing came in the sprint.
• The cancellation took away Marquez's chance to build a bigger lead while Martin was sidelined.
• Martin's Aprilia team said he will not fly back to Spain for treatment, which keeps alive his hopes of riding at the next round.

A farewell without a race

This was meant to be the last Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, which has hosted the race for 30 years apart from two seasons lost to Covid. The event moves to a street circuit in Adelaide next year. Riders did one lap behind the safety car and stopped on the main straight to wave to the crowd. Home rider Jack Miller, who leaves MotoGP at the end of the season for World Superbike with Pata Maxus Yamaha, did wheelies and threw his gloves and boots to fans, and called the cancellation "a tough pill to swallow".

Phillip Island's history is a big part of the sport: Casey Stoner won six races in a row there from 2007 to 2012, and Mick Doohan sealed the last of his five world titles there in 1998.

What comes next

The championship moves to the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang next weekend. Malaysia is three hours ahead of Pakistan, so the main race usually starts in the late morning PKT on Sunday. Whether Martin can ride with a broken wrist will decide how open the title fight is.

Also on tonight: Formula 1's US Grand Prix in Austin, where Kimi Antonelli can clinch the title (our preview).