Lombok, IO – The 2022 Pertamina Indonesian Grand Prix (MotoGP) took place on Sunday (03/20/2022), 25 years since top-level motorcycle racing was last held in Indonesia. The event took place at the brand-new Pertamina Mandalika Circuit, The Mandalika, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and was arranged by Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)—PT Pengembangan Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero)—a state-owned enterprise managing The Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK Mandalika). The race progressed smoothly amid unfortunately mixed weather.
After Moto 3 and Moto 2 took place under sunny skies, the MotoGP race, the last event of the day in the afternoon, was faced with competing on a wet track, following a heavy rain. This failed to dampen the spirits of some 60,000 enthusiastic spectators watching the race.
The final racing day included two Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) sessions, Warm Up, Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP.
Moto3 and Moto2 were 23 laps and 16 laps long, respectively, while the big-bore MotoGP bikes completed 20 laps. The racing event was attended by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Joko Widodo, who also presented a trophy to the MotoGP winner. Pertamina Mandalika Circuit welcomed Miguel Oliveira of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Johann Zarco of Pramac Racing at the top of the podium.
President Director of ITDC Abdulbar M. Mansoer conveyed his gratitude to President Jokowi, who made time available to visit and watch the 2022 MotoGP events in Pertamina Mandalika Circuit. “We have been working toward the grand MotoGP at Mandalika for approximately five years. We thank all stakeholders who have supported this event; the central and regional governments, SOEs, the private sector, and communities. This collaboration shows that the MotoGP (event in Mandalika) belongs to all the people of Indonesia,” he said.
In holding the world-class race, ITDC Group was funded by several parties: Import Export Financing Agency (LPEI) under a national interest account scheme for the circuit’s groundwork, a Government Capital (PMN) and HIMBARA syndicated loan for main track asphalting funding and circuit infrastructure.
ITDC also received support from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry (Kemenparekraf) through State Asset Management Institute (LMAN) to provide 28 plots of land for circuit facilities. Through Kemenparekraf, ITDC Group also received a hosting fee to hold the 2022-2023 racing events at The Mandalika.
Public Works and Housing Ministry (PUPR Ministry), with its essential role in the MotoGP event, built specialized infrastructure: a 17.3 kilometer road connecting Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Airport (ZAM) to The Mandalika zone, widening the Kuta-Keruak 5.5 kilometer access road and adding four road lanes, along with other setup needed for The Mandalika zone to prepare well for the event. The PUPR Ministry also helped construct tourism housing facilities (sarhunta) as alternative lodging for spectators at the MotoGP race.
ITDC collaborated with PT Wijaya Karya (Persero), PT PP (Persero), a number of SOEs and local companies in constructing the circuit, and holding the MotoGP in a sponsorship program. The SOEs and companies aiding the event are PT Pertamina (Persero), PT Telkom Indonesia, PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero), Tbk., PT Bank Mandiri (Persero), Tbk., PT PGN Tbk. as venue partner, PT GoTo GoJek Tokopedia, and PT PP (Persero) as the main sponsors. Aprilia Indonesia, Astra Honda Motor, J&T Express, PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero), Tbk., TDR High Performance Technology, RCB (Racing Boy) and KYT Helmet as supporting sponsors.
The official also extended thanks to the Indonesian Military and the National Police (TNI-Polri) for supporting the event. Thousands of TNI-Polri personnel were deployed to help secure the event.
“The success of MotoGP 2022 event is a shared success. The plan to organize MotoGP-WSBK as long as ten years in Indonesia requires reliable collaboration to continue in the future,” added Abdulbar.
Apart from MotoGP as the main agenda of the show, the Aerobatic Show deploying six aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force and the Indonesian Army Marching Band also enlivened the event. Spectators were entertained by prominent Indonesian bands including Pamungkas, DJ Ninda Felinda, Samsons and Slank Bands in BNI Mandalika Music Vibes in the inner circuit area. A number of events in The Mandalika were conducted successfully: Mandalika Tropical Festival in Aan Cape, Festival Jajajan Bango in Kuta Beach Park, Mandalika Weekender Concert in Kuta Beach, Food Truck Festival and West Nusa Tenggara MSMEs exhibitions and Central Lombok Regency Government in East Park lot 1 of Mandalika.
“The entire three-day event carved the stone of our success after a 25-year-long wait. We gained tremendous experience in learning how to improve upcoming world-class events. We are committed to learning and preparing other racing events to be held in Pertamina Mandalika Circuit, each time more proficiently,” Abdulbar concluded.