Phillip Island, located 125km southeast of Melbourne, recently roared to life for the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2024 – a key fixture in the FIM Road Racing World Championship season. From October 18 – 20, the world’s racing elite took to the circuit, attracting more than 80,000 spectators across an action-packed 3-day event.
Coates has proudly supported the AGPC in staging the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix since 1997, providing expertise and a growing range of solutions to ensure the event runs smoothly from bump-in to bump-out.
Coates has proudly supported the AGPC in staging the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix since 1997
Although Phillip Island is a permanent racing circuit, it’s not designed for events the size of MotoGP.
“Staging a motor racing event of this scale is a significant undertaking,” says Cameron Baker, AGPC Manager for Design and Construction. “As MotoGP is the largest event held at Phillip Island each year there is limited permanent infrastructure in place, and much of the event site has to be custom built – even the grandstands.”
“Meeting the temporary infrastructure requirement involves bringing in a large number of portable buildings and other facilities; increasing the supply of amenities like power, lighting and plumbing; and boosting radio and TV connectivity for broadcasts,” Cameron continues.
To build The Paddock and Media Compound, all tooling and equipment must be moved infield by crossing over the track. “Time and access restrictions made this challenging, because for most of our time on site we were working around other track activations," says Sam Borthwick, Coates Major Projects Manager – Events.
“There were only three days when track access could be granted during the 6-week build,” says Cameron. “Additionally, we experienced delays in being able to move equipment to its final destination infield. With well over a hundred portable buildings to stage and move into place, these restrictions were particularly challenging for contractors like Coates.”
Phillip Island’s location 2-3 hours southeast of Melbourne is logistically challenging for some contractors, because the distance makes it difficult to return to branch for missing equipment and to accommodate changing equipment requirements. Local weather conditions add further complexity to the event build.
“When it’s windy in Melbourne it can be blowing a gale on the island, which prevents some of the larger equipment from being used to safely move buildings into place,” he says. “Meticulous pre-event planning was critical in addressing these location challenges, ensuring Coates could deliver what was required for this event.”
Coates supplied and maintained a range of equipment to meet AGPC’s operational and sustainability requirements. This solution included:
135 x portable buildings for The Paddock, Media Compound and to support the provision of security and first aid. Coates also worked closely with AGPC to meet the needs and accessibility requirements of spectators.
66 x diesel generators
4 x compressors
24 x hybrid light towers
13 x solar light poles
440 x Armorzone recycled plastic traffic barriers
A range of smaller tools and ground protective equipment
Coates provided additional support to other event contractors during the build, including supplying portable compound buildings and large access and materials handling equipment.
Coates supplied and maintained a range of equipment to meet AGPC’s operational and sustainability requirements
AGPC’s ongoing partnership with Coates is driven by the company’s ability to support the diverse needs of this iconic event.
“Coates has the breadth and quality of equipment that we need to fulfil our requirements; the right approach to planning and on-site management; a willingness and ability to accommodate changing on-site needs; and broad knowledge of the event and how it operates – all crucial factors in the success of MotoGP,” says Cameron.
A lot goes into shaping the success of events like MotoGP, but for Sam good partnerships are key. “When the timing is tight and the conditions are challenging, AGPC needs reliable partners that understand what’s required and what it will take to deliver,” he says.
A flexible approach and quick response times from Coates’ on-site project team contributed to the smooth delivery of MotoGP.
“We had mechanics and electricians on site throughout the event, keeping equipment running optimally and on standby to fix any issues that occurred,” says Sam. “By providing a high level of field service Coates was able to ensure the reliability of this equipment and minimise downtime for AGPC.”
Coates continues to support AGPC in achieving its sustainability goals, providing increasingly efficient and sustainable equipment alternatives from its Greener Choices range. To reduce the environmental impact of MotoGP, Coates provided solar light poles; hybrid light towers as an alternative to standard diesel models; and a fleet of recycled Armorzone water-filled plastic barriers.
“With significantly less need for refuelling, the use of hybrid lighting helped AGPC to reduce CO2 emissions by 2.78tCO2e; reduced fuel consumption by 1,020L; and minimised the time AGPC spent refuelling during the event,” says Sam. “Choosing solar lighting instead of diesel powered lighting for the campground reduced emissions by a further 1.48tCO2e and fuel consumption by 546L. Providing a completely noise-free lighting solution also significantly improved the experience for campers.”
“AGPC is serious about sustainability, so anything we can do to advance this and show that it is part of our core focus and corporate strategy is really important,” says Cameron. “It’s also crucial to have partners like Coates that come to us with innovations that help us to keep pushing that envelope and working toward our targets.”
Contact us to find out how Coates can streamline the delivery and improve the performance of your next major event.
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