The recent visit to Indonesia by Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has sparked rumours of a MotoGP race to be held in the country in the future.
Reports surfaced during the weekend of Malaysian GP that a MotoGP race in Indonesia is being talked upon for the future – as the championship looks to tap on the Asian market, following the success of the race in Thailand.
Even in general, Asia is proving to be the largest consumer of two-wheel products and with three Japanese manufacturers going head-to-head in MotoGP, the popularity is growing at an increasing rate.
A report on MotoGP’s site confirms Ezpeleta’s visit to Bali and Lombok between the races in Australia and Malaysia where he met with some leading figures in Indonesia along with the circuit designers.
The list, in fact, included ITDC Head of Investment & Marketing Ricky Baheramsjah, ITDC Director of Development Edwin Darmasetiawan, ITDC President Director and CEO Abdulbar M. Mansoer, Roadgrip Indonesia Director Raoul Pasaribu, Construction and Operation Director Ngurah Wirawan, Dorna Sporting Director Carlos Ezpeleta, MRK1 Consulting Managing Director Mark Hughes.
It was not only a holiday for Ezpeleta but also an opportunity to look at the potential venue for a track to host motorbike events in the future within a tourism estate spanning 1,175-ha – although for now, it is not clear if it will host MotoGP races straightaway.
“Mr Carmelo Ezpeleta was primarily at the Nusa Dua for a well-deserved break at the Bali National Golf Club before heading out to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang,” said Abdulbar M. Mansoer.
“It was not his first time to the Island as he visited the Nusa Dua around 2 years prior beforehand. For this visit, during his busy schedule and on route between the two races, he wanted to visit Bali as well as Lombok, where we welcomed him to the Mandalika and presented a potential concept to host future Motorbike Race Events.
“His visit was brief, but we believe that he sincerely enjoyed his break and of course we would be very happy to welcome him back to Bali and Lombok in the near future.” Indonesia, though, already has a permanent circuit at Sentul.
The circuit hosts the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship races and is situated in Jakarta. The proposed venue in Lombok, Mandalika is over 1300km away from Sentul in the eastern side with Bali over 150 km on the west of Lombok island.