THE INDONESIANOUTSTANDINGADVENTURE

THE INDONESIAN INTEREST FOR MOTOCROSS HAS INCREASED HUGELY OVER THE PAST YEARS AND THE FACT THAT THERE IS A DOUBLE HEADER IN INDONESIA IN THE 2023 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IS NOT COINCIDENTAL AND HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE GROWING PASSION FOR THIS WONDERFUL AND SPECTACULAR SPORT.

Indonesia is known for being one of the biggest bike-crazed nations in the world and 2017 in Pangkal Pinang marked the return of MXGP in the country after 20 years. This comeback really triggered a spike of interest for the MXGP series. Since then, there have been double header Grand Prix in 2018 and 2019, and a Grand Prix in 2022. This year in 2023, MXGP went to Sumbawa for the second year in a row after an immense success in 2022, and headed to Lombok a week later to continue to satisfy the huge Indonesian fan base that grew to be one of the biggest following countries in MXGP. Excitingly, this love story is bound to continue for a while as MXGP has signed a contract until 2027 to comeback to the Southeast Asian country for the greater enjoyment of all the Indonesian fans.

Since 2017, the Championship series has travelled quite a bit around the Indonesian Archipelago of 277 million people. In 2018, it was Pangkal Pinang and Semarang in Central Java that hosted a round each, while in 2019 it was in Palembang in Sumatra and Semarang in Java. Throughout the years, the whole MXGP Family received the warmest welcome in every Indonesian venue that it visited. The way Indonesian people approach these events are very humbling with their kindness, respect and excitement.

Indonesia is the biggest Asian market for the bike industry, as over the past 10 years, 6 million bikes have been sold on average annually which speaks volume about the importance of this country for every Motorcycle brands. Indonesian live for motorcycle that is the nation’s prime vehicle for daily transport. The MXGP following respects the same trend with Indonesia being in the top five countries of every digital platform. Indonesia is one of the main following countries on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, as we have a loyal and passionate community following us. For example, the milestone of 1.6 million Facebook followers from Indonesia, out of a total of 3.1 million, speaks for itself, while Indonseia accounts for 20% of all videos viewed on the MXGPTV YouTube channel, placing it as the top following country together with USA. Besides these facts, local hero Delvintor Alfarizi and his team Astra Honda is taking part in the MX2 World Championship since the beginning of the 2023 season which is an additional point that shows the increasingly tight link between Indonesia and motocross. In that context, it is easy to understand the great link between MXGP and Indonesia, on top of the incredible receptions experienced in all the Indonesian rounds.

The two rounds in Indonesia were also broadcasted LIVE by the Indonesian channels Champions TV, Moji and Vidio, which are covering the whole season until 2025, as well as broadcasting Behind The Gate. The large national coverage allowed the huge Indonesian following to watch the MXGP Series LIVE.

The island of Sumbawa was the first destination of the exciting double Indonesian round and hosted an MXGP event for the second time in its history. The presence of MXGP in the island is being proudly shown throughout the whole island, found down to stickers on moped throughout the island. The MNC MXGP of Sumbawa – Indonesia is the only international sports event on the island and all locals wait this moment for months. The grand opening ceremony showed this excitement with a traditional Indonesian dancing performance for the whole MXGP paddock and officials at the Regent Palace followed by speeches from Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo and FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela who have been welcomed by the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara Dr. H. Zulkieflimansyah S.E. M.SC, Major of the city of Sumbawa Drs H. Muhammad Abdullah and Mr.Ridwansyah Head of Public Works Department West Nusa Tenggara Province.

Following the welcome speeches, traditional horses and carriages, known as the CIDOMO, drove the MXGP riders and their team around town for a very memorable procession. Along with CIDOMO, traditional Indonesian bicycle were at the disposition of riders and guests to parade amongst the crowd. Thousands of people came to get a glimpse at riders and cheer as they passed by. The excitement demonstrated by locals is one of the most impressive things to witness, as these types of media event could go on for hours and hours and will still keep the same energy. The group photo in front of the temple of the Regent Palace was the opportunity for locals to come in contact with the riders in a wonderful atmosphere and many, many, many selfies and picture taken by children and parents with the athletes. Riders and the paddock in general could measure the impact of the MXGP presence every day spent in the stunning Island of Sumbawa.

The MXGP collective was lucky this season with back-to-back Indonesian Grand Prix. The second round headed to the beautiful island of Lombok, as the whole MXGP paddock hopped from Sumbawa to Lombok for more delightful racings at the Selaparang circuit in the vibrant city of Mataram. The island of Lombok is already very famous for MotoGP and Superbike with the Mandalika Circuit in the south of Lombok, which shows that the passion for motorsports is already tested and huge given the array of bike advertising throughout the island. Surfing on that wave, a new sponsorship specifically for the MNC MXGP of Lombok-Indonesia marked the arrival of MXGP in Lombok with TDR High Performance Technology. The partnership with TDR reinforced the commitment to support the growth of motorsports in the region. In that context, motocross is now adding another successful motorsport that is followed by millions in the country.

The MNC MXGP of Lombok –Indonesia was launched on the Thursday evening with a Gala Dinner that was held at the Sangkareang Park Mataram, where riders, teams and the whole MXGP paddock were welcomed to the venue by traditional dancing and instrumental music from Lombok while they were ushered to their tables by traditionally clothed and elegant on locals.

Speeches ensued by the special guests David Luongo, Antonio Alia Portela and West Nusa Tenggara Governor Dr. H. Zulkieflimansyah, who were invited on the great stage to share their excitement to have MXGP in the stunning, warm and welcoming island of Lombok. Then, Mayor City of Mataram Mohan Roliskana gifted David Luongo and Antonio Alia Portela traditional handcrafted symbolic presents from West Nusa Tenggara in a gesture aimed at further bonding the future of MXGP in Indonesia.

The evening followed with a dinner where guests could eat and discover delicious local food and delicacies while live music and traditional dancing were performed in front of everyone present as well as the hundreds of curious locals gathering around the event. The high-quality entertainment was captivating and traditional dancers even invited some lucky MXGP guests to experience and take part in the performance in a great and joyful atmosphere.

The enthusiasm was splendid from start to finish by the Indonesian fans, organizers and the whole island of Lombok and was even more palpable during the racing days on Saturday and Sunday. On the Sunday morning before the races, everyone present witnessed something really typical of Lombok which was the traditional dance and music performances on the starting grid during the Opening Ceremony.

The two Grand Prix welcomed a huge amount of national and local media during the weekends. While historically there has always been a big number of media following, with two rounds over two weeks, the media showed up in even more numbers than usual which shows again the importance of MXGP in the country. Both events were overall also immense successes in term of attendance with a whopping 50,000 and 65,000 fans joining in Sumbawa ad Lombok respectively that is, if needed, another clue to what motocross means to Indonesia.

In both Sumbawa and Lombok, festivals were organised onsite along with the racing events. These festivals were another reason for locals to reach the MXGP events, as the dedicated areas were located next to the Paddock in both places with proper facilities put in place to welcome music shows all weekends long along with markets. Thousands of people reached the venues to also experienced these astonishingly joyful atmospheres. Needless to say, with thousands of people coming by scooters and motorcycles, the scenes of fields filled with a sea of bikes were completely fitting with the motocross’ passion displayed by locals. These formidable festivals added to the sense of celebration of having international events in the region.

All in all, the doubleheader in Indonesia on the islands of Sumabawa and Lombok was an immense success that further cemented the strong and friendly relationship between MXGP and the whole of Indonesia. The welcomes and hospitalities of every local went above and beyond what we could expect which speaks volumes about the Indonesian approachable attitude towards the people who visit their regions and country. The reach of motocross throughout the whole nation is really tangible and with that incredible passion for the sport, the whole MXGP family can rest assured that it will always be embraced and welcomed by millions of fervent fans in Indonesia.