Joshua Hogan, a Queensland game developer and motor sport enthusiast, is suing the South Australian government to halt plans for a MotoGP street circuit in Adelaide's parklands due to rider safety concerns. Appearing before the Federal Court, Hogan argued that rider lives are at risk if the track does not meet Grade A safety standards set by the FIM. The proposed 4.13-kilometre circuit includes features from the old Formula One track and has been designed with input from motorsport experts to ensure safety, according to the SA government.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Joshua Hogan is seeking a permanent injunction against the proposed Adelaide MotoGP street circuit works, including any tree removal.
asserted
Hogan → seek → removal
The Queensland game developer told the Federal Court he loved motorsport, but it was his view rider safety concerns should be considered.
What's next?
A judge has ordered Mr Hogan and the SA government — which says track safety is "paramount" to the design — to file written submissions later this month.
asserted
safety → tell → submissions
A Queensland man who is taking legal action to halt the South Australian government's plans for a MotoGP circuit has told a court he is concerned about rider safety on the proposed track.
asserted
he → take → track
Joshua Hogan is seeking a permanent injunction against the proposed MotoGP street circuit works, including any tree removal, in the Adelaide parklands.
asserted
Hogan → seek → parklands
Appearing in the Federal Court for the first time on Friday, a self-represented Mr Hogan said he was a game developer who loved motorsport, but it was his view rider safety concerns should be considered.
asserted
concerns → appear → motorsport
"What got me started is the safety of riders, their lives, because … they're not like a race car that has a cage or safety cells in it,"he said.
asserted
that → get → it,"he
"[They could possibly be] killed in a situation if the track itself is not adequate to a Grade A safety standard in the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme).
uncertain
track → kill → FIM
"
The Adelaide MotoGP event is slated to start next year and would be the only street circuit in the MotoGP World Championship.
asserted
event → slat → Championship
Former MotoGP world champion Wayne Gardner and motorsport journalists have previously raised concerns about rider safety on the proposed 4.13-kilometre-long circuit, which revives elements of Adelaide's old Formula One track, including the straight down Rundle Road and a corner near the Stag Hotel.
asserted
which → raise → Hotel
An SA government website states the proposed circuit design was informed by "detailed collaboration" between the SA Motor Sport Board, FIM, MotoGP and Supercars Australia, and included safety elements such as run-off areas, air fences and marshals.
asserted
design → state → areas
"There are no compromises when it comes to rider and driver safety," the website states.
asserted
website → be → safety
In a statement after the hearing, an SA government spokesperson said safety had been "paramount in the proposed circuit design, which has been informed by detailed collaboration".
asserted
which → say → collaboration
"Experts in engineering, circuit design and motorsport safety have been engaged to guide the design," the spokesperson said.
"
asserted
spokesperson → engage → design
In addition, specialist input has been provided by former 125cc and 250cc World Champion and current MotoGP Safety Advisor Loris Capirossi and five-time Supercars champion Mark Skaife."
asserted
input → provide → Capirossi
Mr Hogan told the court on Friday he had spent six months researching the Adelaide circuit and had found "a lot" of inconsistencies.
"
asserted
he → tell → inconsistencies
I understand the timeline for a motorsport event is very tight, particularly with a circuit with this amount of importance to it, but I also feel that it's also down to rider safety," he said.
asserted
he → understand → safety
"[In] the regulations of the safety standards in the FIM, Dequetteville Terrace needed 300 metres of tarmac and it [the render] actually shows very little.
asserted
it → need → little
It's not even close to that recommended by the safety standards of the track itself."
asserted
It → recommend → track
Court documents released to the ABC earlier this month showed Mr Hogan's challenge was based on similar legal arguments to those previously dismissed by the Federal Court in relation to the North Adelaide golf course upgrade.
asserted
challenge → release → upgrade
Mr Hogan argued that the execution of plans for the MotoGP development, without being referred to the Federal Minister for the Environment, would be a breach of federal conservation laws.
asserted
execution → argue → laws
Alison Doecke KC, representing the SA government, told the court on Friday that the development had been referred to the federal minister.
asserted
development → represent → minister
She said the state government anticipated "a response to the first step of that referral" between October 21 and 23, after which "early works" on the circuit would commence.
asserted
works → say → circuit
"The early site works associated with the track redevelopment will involve site establishment in late October before the Supercars event and then construction will commence immediately after the Supercar event finishes,"she said.
asserted
event → associate → event
Justice Erin Longbottom ordered Mr Hogan and the SA government to file written submissions later this month.
asserted
Longbottom → order → submissions
The Aporia