If you’re a fan of modern motorsports, chances are good (but not certain) that you know the name Bob Bernard. Even if that name doesn’t automatically ring a bell, you almost certainly know his work as a track engineer. Although his name may not be as controversial as Herman Tilke, Barnard is instead best known for one of the best-loved circuits among both fans and racers: Phillip Island.
He has also held other jobs, including working as engineering project manager when Formula One first arrived in Oz in Adelaide in 1985. Here in the US, he helped with the rebuild at Road Atlanta in the late ’90s, as well as the Daytona International Speedway infield rebuild project in the early aughts.
Interestingly, despite all his years of accumulated experience (he also provides expert witness testimony in his track engineering and motorsports-related specialties), even someone like Barnard is still cautious about what he chooses to say. I can’t say it for sure, as I’ve never met the man, but it seems he must have felt very strongly about sending the all-rounder known as Matt Oxley a message he calls “an open letter to motorsport enthusiasts”.
In fact, the opening paragraph of Barnard’s open letter basically states that since he moved away from Australia almost 30 years ago, even though he was instrumental in bringing these international motorsports to Oz in the first place, he still felt as if he didn’t have the right to have an opinion about the move away from Phillip Island. Nor, for that matter, the Adelaide Parklands controversy. And I got it; I also don’t like to shut my mouth in public if I don’t feel like I’ve earned it. I think this is relevant material.
However, ever since Liberty Media acquired MotoGP (remember, it’s also the rights-holder of Formula One, as well as a whole host of other racing series, including WSBK), many people have worried about what it will mean for these sports we love. And now Bernard is adding his voice to the crowd.
“I am now concerned that both iconic circuits will be lost, lost and gone forever as a result of decisions by Liberty Media, owner of MotoGP Sport Entertainment, the commercial rights holder of MotoGP and WSBK, and the South Australian State Government to increase the share price for one and vote for the other, with neither thinking about the well-being of the sport or the heritage they represent. The new Adelaide layout is not the original circuit and will not be the best F1 in the world. “Will not replace what is regularly voted as the street circuit, nor the best motorcycle GP circuit as expressed by the riders.”
– Bob Bernard
He then raises a truly terrifying specter in the next paragraph, and begins it with the haunting question, “What would be the outrage if Bathurst was redesigned for MotoGP, the layout was changed, or worse, closed and sold off for a golf course?” I’m not even an Australian and reading this made me feel that line, much as I have enjoyed watching the races at the prestigious Bathurst Circuit over the years. Indeed, turning it into just another golf course would be an unforgivable loss to both the motorsport culture as well as the local community!
However, the controversy over moving features is more than just a certain indifference to the history of motorsports (or knowledge of it). Environmental advocates are concerned about the removal of large numbers of trees from protected Adelaide Park lands, a deliberately established green space around the Adelaide region. Initially, the claim was that only 45 trees would need to be cut; But as early as June 2026, a new report revealed that the real number may actually be more than four times.
You don’t need to be a math genius to know why this might be a little worrying, especially when approximately 600 trees were already removed from the area due to a recent golf course redevelopment project. While it’s true there’s been a lot of criticism going around, and Dorna has literally been pleading with the Victoria state government for an update to Phillip Island for years (to no avail), this move ultimately isn’t making anyone very happy except the shareholders. How much 2026 is this?
