Mandalika Circuit Repaving Completed In Short Time, Contractor: Usually It Takes 3-4 Months Before Race

Mandalika Circuit checking process. (Doc. MotoGP official site)

MANDALIKA - The Mandalika MotoGP race will be held March 18-20. Ahead of the race, the re-paving of the Mandalika Circuit was declared complete and ready for use.

As is known, about 17.5 percent of the total 4.3-kilometer track must be re-paved. This re-paving after receiving input from the drivers and also Dorna after the pre-season test on 11-13 February.

The FIM and Dorna recommend re-paving a number of sections of the track before Turn 17 to after Turn 5. The process is also stated to have been completed about a week before the Mandalika MotoGP begins.

General Manager of Roadgrip Motorsport Indonesia (RMI) as the main contractor for the construction of the Mandalika Circuit, Simon Gardini said the re-paving of the track was going well.

"Honestly, it went very well. The results we got with this re-paving have made us very sure we have the best possible results that you can achieve in a very short time," said Simon as quoted by Antara from the official MotoGP website, Wednesday, 16 March.

"All the labs, physical tests, visual inspection of the track surface in the field, ITDC, MGPA, and R3, all felt the process was going well or better than we thought in that short period of time."

"Usually a surface like this is done longer, three or four months before the event, so we'll wait when the bikes hit the track to see how it goes in that short amount of time."

Gardini also revealed that after contractor PT PP completed the re-paving last week, the track had to be cooled because the weather in Mandalika was very hot. Then there are a number of activities carried out in the afternoon and evening to maintain the cleanliness of the asphalt.

One of them is deploying a fleet of Trackjets equipped with high-pressure water spray machines to clean the track.

"Every night the engine is moving at 600 meters per hour so when you have 1.6 km of track section and have to go back and forth 12 times to cover the width of the track, it takes time," Gardini said.

The experts involved have also tested the grip of the track as well. Gardini claims the track grip level has been increased by 80 percent.

"Even now maybe there has more grip than the unpaved part of the track," said Simon.

"We are not nervous but of course with a high-level event like this we really want to see how everything goes and how the two surfaces work together. Enjoy MotoGP," he added.