MotoGP hits Phillip Island ditch as Vic govt crashes in Knight cartoon

Victoria has for a long time seen itself as the “major sporting events” state. The Australian Open, the F1 Grand Prix, the Spring Racing Carnival featuring the Melbourne Cup, and the AFL Grand Final are big ticket items on Australia’s annual sporting calendar.

Unfortunately, after this week Victorians can cross off the MotoGP at Phillip Island from the list of premier events. MotoGP confirmed on Thursday that the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will leave the spectacular Phillip Island circuit by the sea and head to South Australia – not to the rumoured Tailem Bend racetrack one hour out of Adelaide but to a street circuit format in the capital.

The island MotorGP was an established favourite with teams and riders. Over the last 30 years, we have seen Australian champions like Wayne Gardner, Casey Stoner and Mick Doohan take the chequered flag. It was also an annual pilgrimage* for thousands of motorcyclists who travelled to the island and camped trackside.

Events like this are huge economic boosts for regional areas and the event injected $60 million into the South Gippsland economy. Last year was a record for attendance with nearly 100,000 spectators at the track. So what went wrong?

Well, the owners of MotoGP wanted an upgrade to facilities at the Phillip Island racetrack or to move it to the Albert Park F1 circuit in Melbourne. The Victorian Government said it did not want to take the event away from Phillip Island but nor could it come up with the cash for an upgrade.

Seeing an opportunity, the South Australia government swooped in and guaranteed financial backing for the move. It was also a bit of belated tit-for-tat, with Victoria stealing the F1 Grand Prix from Adelaide back in 1996. Take that, Vics!

I felt I had to draw a cartoon to mark this sporting moment. It has been a big week politically in Victoria, with the state Labor government coming under intense pressure after a report into the construction union the CFMEU* was released.

It alleged that the powerful union had total control over the state’s multi-billion dollar Big Build infrastructure* projects, had siphoned* off billions of taxpayer dollars and used outlaw motorcycle gangs engaged in criminal behaviour to enforce union rule. Heavy stuff! So motorcycles were in the news – namely those huge Harley Davidson ones ridden by large muscled-up men covered in tattoos! I sensed a small connection here that I could use to create my cartoon.

The Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan had been claiming she did all she could when alerted to this corrupt* behaviour on Big Build sites and stated that a lot of bikie activity had now ceased. She had gotten rid of this “bad culture”, in her words. Unfortunately other decisions made by her government have simultaneously led to the loss of the MotoGP at Phillip Island.

So I sketched the Victorian Premier at the racetrack, with the beautiful Bass Strait in the background. To symbolise the lack of upgrades at the circuit, I drew a motorcycle racer who has unfortunately hit one of Victoria’s infamous potholes and has been thrown from his ride: the Phillip Island MotoGP.

In the cartoon, the Premier is stating her aim of ridding Victoria of bikies. Unfortunately the MotoGP competitors were the wrong type of riders for her to banish.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• pilgrimage: a journey to a place that is considered special, where you go to show your respect to something or someone
• CFMEU: Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union
• infrastructure: the basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a place or organisation needs and uses in order to work effectively
• siphoned: liquid moved from one container to another, used informally to refer to illegal movement of money by criminals
• corrupt: dishonestly using your position or power to get an advantage, especially for money

EXTRA READING

Youngest teen ever wins MotoGP3 race in Italy

All the action of the great Aussie penguin race

Teen autograph-hunter’s adventure

QUICK QUIZ

1. Where has the MotoGP been held for the past 30 years?
2. Which state and capital city will host the event from 2027?
3. What was the new attendance record set at the race in 2025?
4. How much money did the MotoGP inject into the regional economy?
5. Why has the Victorian government been under intense pressure this week?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What’s going on?
What’s going on in this Mark Knight cartoon? Outline the following:

Issue –

Why is it newsworthy?

What’s the humour?

Which side of the issue are they representing?

What do you see that makes you say that?

–

–

–

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
If you could turn this cartoon into a joke to tell a friend, how would you phrase it? Is it funny? Could they guess the answer?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part One. Think about what the rest of the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking