Mandalika SAG Racing Team, Indonesian Team Without Local Racers

Two Mandalika SAG Racing Team riders, Gabriel Rodrigo (Argentina) and Bo Bendsneyder (Spain) (Cosmas Kopong Beda/VOI)

JAKARTA – The Mandalika SAG Racing Team will be the only team that carries the name of Indonesia in the 2022 MotoGP race at the Mandalika Circuit. This team is the result of collaboration between Mandalika Racing Team Indonesia (MRTI) and Stop and Go (SAG).

This team has started to jump into Moto2 since last season. This means that the 2022 season is their second season in the most prestigious motorcycle race.

"This is the only Red and White team in MotoGP, thank you for your attention to support this team, thank you also to the Mandalika Racing Team team who have supported the Indonesian team with two riders. If they can they all get on the podium: first and second," said Development Business and Communication Mandalika SAG Team Charles Bonar Sirait Director on Thursday, March 10, 2022.

Even though it's already the second season as a team that carries the name of Indonesia, no national rider has been drawn into their squad. This year, the Mandalika SAG team actually hired Gabriel Rodrigo (Argentina) to be Bo Bendsneyder's (Spain) partner who has been on the team since last season.

Gabriel Rodrigo of Spanish blood entered Mandalika SAG to fill the position left by Thomas Luthi (Switzerland) who retired at the end of last season. Rodrigo previously competed in Moto3 with Indonesia Racing Team Gresini.

In his first performance in Moto2 in 2021, Mandalika SAG Racing Team had expressed a desire to recruit Dimas Ekky Pratama. However, the racer from Depok, West Java, failed to join because he did not meet the criteria wanted by the Grand Prix Commission.

At that time, the Grand Prix Commission, which was filled by the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM), Dorna (Motorcycle World Championship Organizer), and the International Racing Team Association (IRTA), rejected Dimas's presence in Moto2 because he had not performed for too long.

Instead, the Mandalika SAG Racing Team plotted Dimas Ekky into the 2021 CEV Moto2 class. This event had previously been participated by the 29-year-old racer.

The Director of Mandalika SAG Kemalsyah Nasution then tried to explain why there were no Indonesian racers in his team. He said that there were actually attempts to bring in national racers, but the requirements eventually became an obstacle.

The lack of Indonesian riders who meet the requirements to enter Moto2, said Kemal, was influenced by the lack of coaching carried out. For this reason, he hopes that the existence of the Mandalika Circuit can be a step to start serious coaching.

"So for the last 25 years since MotoGP in Indonesia (1997), after that there has been no coaching whatsoever. If we study motorcycle academies in Europe, it is very different from in Indonesia. Therefore, we must start building an academy, and the academy must right and leads to the Mini GP. From there, you can do it," said Kemal.

So far, Indonesian racers have not been able to talk much at the Grand Prix level racing event. Dimas Ekky and Andi Farid Izdihar or commonly known as Andi Gilang, who had fought in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, also always had difficulty competing.

Mandalika SAG Racing Team itself once tried to recruit Andi Gilang. But last year, the 24-year-old was still in Honda Team Asia. Although it was difficult to compete in the top 15 that year, the racer from Bulukumba Regency was able to get four points.

However, the Honda Asia Team did not use his services again this year. Therefore, he had to give up his dream of appearing in front of the public himself when the second series of MotoGP 2022 took place at the Mandalika Circuit later.

Kemal emphasized that the absence of Indonesian riders in Moto2 this year should be a reflection. Coaching that is carried out properly and regularly will open up opportunities for the next generation in the future.

"There are many championships using motorcycles, but it is undeniable that with motorcycles we can't enter world class. Why don't we start preparing for the training from now on? Hopefully this team can trigger generations to dream of becoming international racers," he said. Kemal.

For this year, the only Indonesian racer who will be competing is Mario Suryo Aji. The 17-year-old rider strengthens Honda Team Asia in the Moto3 class.

Mario, who comes from East Java, got less than optimal results when he took part in the first series at the Losail Circuit, Qatar, on Sunday, March 6. He only occupies the 25th grid start in the qualifying session after being 3.078 seconds adrift of Izan Guevara who won the pole position.

Meanwhile, during the race, Mario also failed to gain points after finishing 19th out of 29 riders who took part in the race and seven of them were unable to finish. The points winners are the top 15 riders only for the 18-lap race.

Learn from YouTube

Bendsneyder and Rodrigo failed to score points when they played in Qatar on March 6. In that race, Bendsneyder, who has Indonesian ancestry, finished 19th or dropped two places after starting the race from P17.

Meanwhile, his team mate, Rodrigo, finished the race in 21st place after starting from 22nd position. This failure certainly does not want to be repeated again by the two riders when they go down at the "cage" later.

As is known, the asphalt at the Mandalika Circuit is completely foreign to Bendsneyder and Rodrigo. Because so far only MotoGP riders have had the opportunity to try it during the pre-season test last February.

However, they have tried to overcome this challenge by using the internet. They have learned the character of the Mandalika circuit from videos scattered on YouTube before trying it out during free practice and qualifying

"This is the second race. It is a new atmosphere, but the team helped me to adapt in Moto2, and we will do our best to be on the podium," said Rodrigo.

Carrying the name of Indonesia gave Bendsneyder and Rodrigo the opportunity to meet President Joko Widodo before leaving for Mandalika. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16.

The two riders will join 18 other racers, including Mario, at the State Palace, Jakarta. They then performed a parade with a route of 5 kilometers around Central Jakarta.

The parade will be led directly by the President. All racers will ride with the number one person in Indonesia by starting and finishing at the Merdeka Palace.

MotoGP at the 2022 Mandalika Circuit will mark the return of the most prestigious racing competition to Indonesia after 25 years of vacuum. The last time Indonesia became the home of MotoGP was in 1997.

The 2022 Grand Indonesia MotoGP race will be held from March 18 to 20 at the Mandalika International Circuit, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The Mandalika Grand Prix is the second series in the MotoGP calendar for the 2022 season.