JAKARTA - The Sentul International Circuit was once the pride of the Indonesian nation. Two series of motorcycle racing world championships aka Grand Prix (MotoGP) 1996-1997 were successfully held in Sentul. At that time, three main classes became a special dish: GP500, GP250 and GP125. Even though the Sentul Circuit is full of controversy, MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi always remembers it special. Sentul Circuit witnessed The Doctor dominate the race in the GP125 class. The memory will not last from the owner of racing number 46.
Long before the presence of an international class circuit, the Sentul area was just an empty area with rubber plantations as far as the eye could see. It was Hutomo Mandala Putra alias Tommy Suharto who initially had the vision of building an international circuit. Through the flag of PT Sarana Circuit Indo, Tommy has high aspirations. President Soeharto's youngest son has the desire to build a circuit for world-caliber automotive sports. Formula 1 car racing, for example.
Together with Tinton Soeprapto, Tunky Ariwibowo, as well as government support, a circuit with a length of 3.9 KM was built. The cost of making it at that time reached Rp. 120 billion. The circuit design was carried out directly by designers from the Formula 1 racing authorities, namely the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The groundbreaking was also carried out in 1986. However, due to cost constraints, the construction only started again in 1990. Three years later the Sentul International Circuit was completed. The inauguration was carried out by the 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia, Suharto on August 22, 1993.
"That is why, the facilities built are unmitigated. The track, for example, is made 15 meters wide with a layer of imported Porus asphalt. Not surprisingly, many international racers praised the greatness of the circuit,” Arif Zulkifli et al wrote in Tempo Magazine (1998).
The presence of the Sentul International Circuit then became a separate political stage for the Suharto government. A series of international racing events has made the New Order government (Orba) even more proud. Moreover, Indonesia had the honor of carrying out the MotoGP title titled Marlboro Indonesian Grand Prix 1996. Suharto even took part in opening the international event. Suharto symbolically pressed the siren button to signal the start of the GP125 class race.
The big event was clearly a mandatory spectacle for sports lovers throughout Indonesia on April 7, 1996. Those who watched live made the Sentul International Circuit explode. The traffic jam from the front gate of the Sentul Toll Road has even reached 10 KM. If calculated, the audience at the Sentul International Circuit reached 100 thousand people, between those who bought tickets and those who did not. Not to mention those who watch via the glass screen. The actions of the iron horse riders were also watched to the end by Suharto and his wife, Tien Suharto.
In the competition for the GP500 class champion, defending champion Michael Doohan from Australia for two years in a row managed to finish in first position. The Repsol Honda team's mainstay racer completed 30 laps in 43 minutes 50.798 seconds with an average speed of 163.807 km/hour.
In the GP250 class, a Japanese racer, Tetsuya Harada from the Yamaha Marlboro Rainey team emerged as the champion, outperforming his opponents. Meanwhile, in the GP125 race, a Japanese racer, Masaki Tokudome from the Ditter Plastic team put himself as the best, after winning in a very tight battle. Most interestingly, the number one person in Indonesia acted directly to give an award to Michael Doohan as the winner of the GP500.
“President Suharto has often watched sports matches live. However, giving awards directly to winners is a very rare thing. The organizing committee for the Marlboro Indonesian Grand Prix, as well as the Doohan racer who won the race, deserved the honor, because Pak Harto was willing to witness the race and hand over the award directly," reads the Kompas Daily report entitled Dari Pak Harto for Doohan (1996).
The following year, or on September 28, 1997, the MotoGP event was held again at the Sentul International Circuit. Like the first event, the audience also exploded. This time the star is Valentino Rossi. Even though he is still in the GP125 class, Rossi's appearance is really surprising.
All because a few days earlier he had had an accident after holding a party in Tavullia. The party was held to celebrate the success of being the MotoGP world champion in the GP125 class. After celebrating the world title, the Porsche car that Rossi and his father was traveling in had a single accident on the way home. The accident left Rossi injured and traumatized.
“Rossi celebrated his first title right before he left for Indonesia. On his way home he had an accident with a Porsche 928 which was supposed to be tested by the Graziano Circuit. His head was hurt. And his head was wrapped in bandages. Even so, Rossi can be funny by using a bandage while on the podium in the rest of the MotoGP race in Sentul, Indonesia," wrote Michel Turco in the book Rossi: Die Legende (2019).
The accident clearly did not make Rossi deterrent. He continues to prove himself to be the best in his class. As evidence, Rossi, who at that time joined the Aprilia team, did not only climb the podium in first position. However, Rossi also broke the record for fastest lap GP125 at Sentul International Circuit which was originally held by Haruchika Aoki in 1996, with a time of 1:35,068 seconds. Rossi broke it by being the fastest 1:33,479 seconds. Thus, the Sentul MotoGP series will never be forgotten by The Doctor.
“In 1996 and 1997, I competed in Sentul and I will never forget Jakarta. I hope to come back here again,” said Rossi when he visited Indonesia in 2009.
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