MotoGP set to welcome Indonesia’s largest post-COVID crowd

This weekend’s eagerly anticipated Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia MotoGP race, the first motorcycle grand prix staged in the country in 25 years, is set  first set to be the nation’s biggest sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All 63,000 available tickets have been sold for the race at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on the tourist island of Lombok with the venue, which, had been due to welcome MotoGP last year, having had its track resurfaced in the lead up to the event.

More fans are expected to watch the race from a nearby hill, with 150,000 spectators in total expected.

The weekend will feature MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 qualifying on Saturday and the main races on Sunday.

In advance of the race, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who participated in a promotional event in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta today, stated “our target of 60,000 tickets has been sold, thank God.

“There are 122 million motorcycles in Indonesia … a huge fan (base) … and (the race) here will make them so happy.”

The Mandalika International Street Circuit, located in the Mandalika resort area oof southern Lombok Regency, hosted rounds of the Asia Talent Cup and Superbike World Championship in 2021, and it will host rounds also for the GT World Challenge Asia this year.

The sport and entertainment project, covering 120 hectares, is expected to include the construction of hotels and other facilities.

The project was heavily criticised by the United Nations, due to reports of locals being dispossessed of their homes, lands and livelihoods.

Sunday’s race is the second leg on the 2022 MotoGP calendar after the opening race in Qatar in early March.

Images: Marc Marquez testing the Mandalika International Street Circuit today (below, credit: MotoGP) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo promoting the race (below).