MotoGP has brought forward the Australian Grand Prix to Saturday afternoon in a bid to avoid inclement weather forecast for Sunday.
The 27-lap grand prix will now take place at 3:10pm tomorrow, less than three hours after the conclusion of qualifying.
The build-up to the weekend has been overshadowed by a forecast for rain and high winds on Sunday, putting the running of the showpiece race at risk.
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Several riders have expressed concern that the conditions would be too dangerous to race, with gust speed of particular concern.
Qualifying at the 2019 event was called off due to high winds of a similar speed to those forecast for Sunday.
With the forecast worsening overnight, organisers have pulled the trigger to save the grand prix by shifting it to late Saturday afternoon, when the weather is predicted to be windy and wet but within safe parameters.
The sprint has been shifted to 2:00pm on Sunday, when the grand prix was originally scheduled to run, ensuring the full complement of points could still be awarded if the weather turns out to be less severe than forecast.
Moto2 and Moto3 are unaffected, with races for both junior classes still programmed for Sunday.
Organisers have scheduled an extraordinary press conference for Friday night.
