PI draws biggest Saturday MotoGP crowd in 11 years

Phillip Island has today seen its biggest Saturday crowd for a MotoGP event since Casey Stoner bade farewell to his home fans 11 years ago.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) has reported a turnout of 32,450 people today, who witnessed veteran Johann Zarco break through for his first premier class grand prix win with a final-lap pass.

The bumper attendance may have been due to the Grand Prix race being brought forward to this afternoon, with the Sprint postponed to tomorrow due to an adverse weather forecast for the Sunday.

As a result, Sunday ticketholders were offered complimentary Saturday tickets and/or refunds, depending on their original purchase and situation.

There has since been a further schedule change, with the Sprint brought forward an hour to 13:00 local time/AEDT tomorrow as part of a broader shuffle of the programme.

The AGPC has thus advised that gates will open half an hour earlier than originally planned, at 08:00 local time, and close two hours earlier, at 15:00 local time.

Friday saw a crowd of 19,150 people at Phillip Island.