{"id":1623,"date":"2026-06-19T07:59:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/?p=1623"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:59:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:59:43","slug":"worldsbk-to-leave-iconic-phillip-island-for-the-bend-from-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/worldsbk-to-leave-iconic-phillip-island-for-the-bend-from-2028\/","title":{"rendered":"WorldSBK to Leave Iconic Phillip Island for The Bend from 2028"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is the end of an era for world motorcycle racing. After more than thirty years of legendary battles, the WorldSBK Championship has officially confirmed it will abandon the historic Phillip Island circuit. Starting from 2028, the Australian Round will move to a new home at the modern The Bend<\/strong> facility in the state of South Australia, following the signature of a secure “multi-year deal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Superbike championship follows the lead of MotoGP, which announced earlier this year that it will relocate its own Australian Grand Prix to Adelaide starting in 2027. This marks a major shift away from the iconic island track that has symbolized oceanfront racing for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Historic Milestone for South Australia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The announcement was met with immense enthusiasm by the management of the new host venue. “Securing WorldSBK is a significant achievement for The Bend and today’s announcement marks a historic day for motorsport and for South Australia,”<\/em> said Dr. Sam Shahin<\/strong>, Managing Director of Shell V-Power Motorsport Park. “A decade on, we celebrate a major milestone; WorldSBK is coming. We look forward to delivering an event experience that reflects the significance of this championship.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local government officials also praised the move. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas<\/strong> highlighted the economic impact of the deal: “Securing WorldSBK further strengthens South Australia’s position as Australia’s motorsport capital and will deliver significant economic, tourism and profile benefits across the state. It also provides a pathway for the next generation of local riders, engineers, and motorsport enthusiasts.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Validation from WorldSBK Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Executive Director of WorldSBK, Gregorio Lavilla<\/strong>, reassured fans regarding the high standards of the new venue: “Australia holds a special place in the history of WorldSBK. The venue offers excellent facilities and a strong commitment to motorsport, providing a solid platform for the next chapter of WorldSBK in Australia.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saying Goodbye to a Myth Born in 1990<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Leaving Phillip Island will undoubtedly bring nostalgia to racing purists. The circuit first hosted the World Superbike Championship back in 1990<\/strong>, when home heroes Peter Goddard and Rob Phillis took historic victories. Throughout its history, the track has held a bookend position on the calendar\u2014either closing the season in the 1990s or acting as the iconic season-opener from 2008 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It remains to be seen where The Bend will slot into the schedule when 2028 arrives. As the Australian Round currently stands as the sole non-European event on the WorldSBK calendar, this venue change represents a highly strategic move for the future of the championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is the end of an era for world motorcycle racing. After more than thirty years of legendary battles, the WorldSBK Championship has officially confirmed it will abandon the historic Phillip Island circuit. Starting from 2028, the Australian Round will move to a new home at the modern The Bend facility in the state of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wsbk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1625,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions\/1625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}