Motorsport fans in Sepang, Malaysia
The Indonesian island of Lombok, sadly famous due to last year’s deadly earthquakes and tsunamis, is preparing to re-enter the spotlight for a more positive reason: the tourist resort island is set to host not one, but two of the most significant motorcycle racing events on the planet.
The official announcement was made over the weekend when Dorna Group, the exclusive commercial and TV rights holder for the both MotoGP and World Superbike Championships, announced a final agreement with Indonesia’s integrated tourism developer and operator ITDC to bring both motorcycle racing events to the island of Lombok in 2021.
According to a statement from Dorna, the agreement was finalized during a visit of the representative of ITDC to Madrid on January 28, but was only now made official.
The contract confirms that Indonesia will welcome MotoGP and the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) starting 2021 and valid for three years, to the island of Lombok, more specifically to “The Mandalika”, a large-scale integrated tourism estate.
Another novelty of this announcement is that this will be the first time that MotoGP and WorldSBK categories race on a “street circuit,” as racing events in these two top categories have always been restricted to permanent circuits.
On the topic, Dorna Group CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said, “What a unique project this will be, having an urban, world class circuit in a country where MotoGP has such a huge following. Indonesia is a key market for us with a considerable percentage of motorsport fans living here and the MotoGP atmosphere will be even stronger once the circuit is complete,” adding, “including Lombok to the WorldSBK calendar makes this offer more attractive for local fans having two world-class events in the area during the year.”
The CEO of ITDC, Abdulbar M. Mansoer also noted, “We are very excited to have partnered up with Dorna and are delighted to be able to bring world-class motorsport events to Indonesia and the Mandalika in Lombok together.”
Besides pursuing the natural tourism advantages related to such events, the project was said to intend to help the island recover from the severe damage inflicted by the 2018 earthquakes that killed over 500 people in July and August and collapsed a significant number of the island’s most fragile facilities.
The motorcycle races will be held on a completely new 4.32-kilometre street circuit which, according to released project information, will have 18 corners and will, at least in part, be used as regular circulation roads throughout the year.
This announcement, confirming many long-standing rumors, follows Thailand’s MotoGP debut last year.
Motorsports has been fast-growing in Southeast Asia, where it has very strong support from fans and where most manufacturers, namely the Japanese ones, hold important industrial production units.
Last month, media also reported that in Australia’s New South Wales State, Bathurst Regional councilor Warren Aubin expressed interest in receiving the WorldSBK event at the city’s famous 4.5-kilometre-long permanent Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit.
According to Aubin, this circuit usually hosts only car racing events but sits alongside the existing road course, conditions that could provide the “ideal home for the WorldSBK series in the future.”
Aubin also noted the value of hosting the WorldSBK event in a different location than the one used by MotoGP (Phillip Island) located in Victoria, Melbourne.
Media reports hint that a WorldSBK in Bathurst could happen as early as 2021.
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