MotoGP signed a three-year contract for a race in Indonesia back in 2019. The opening event on the purpose-built stretch of road on the island of Lombok is expected to take place in 2021, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
The circuit appeared as a reserve circuit on a draft calendar for 2021, but was removed after the final schedule was published earlier this year due to the ongoing pandemic situation.
With the track nearing completion, MotoGP has announced that it will run a test on the Mandalika track later in the year if races in Southeast Asia are possible before a possible race date in March 2022.
World Superbikes will make its racing debut on November 14th. The safety officer of the FIM Grand Prix, Franco Uncini, and the representative of the race management, Loris Capirossi, will inspect the track on Wednesday.
Indonesian State Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir said: “I fully support the MotoGP event in March 2022.
“This is in line with the Indonesian government’s accelerated national vaccination program.
“We want to guarantee the safety of national and international visitors.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports added: “The visit to Lombok was very successful and we can confirm that the Mandalika International Street Circuit will be one of the main venues on the calendar going forward.
“We also know that the Indonesian fans will be massive and that the GPs will be one of the most famous of the season.
“Indonesia is a key market, not just for Dorna, but for everyone involved in the championship.”
The MotoGP was last driven on the Sentul circuit in Indonesia in 1997, with Honda receiving the award in the premier class in 1996 with Mick Doohan and a year later with Tadayuki Okada.
Nine-time Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi won the 125cc race in 1996 and will be the only rider on the current grid to have previously contested races in Indonesia should his MotoGP career extend through 2022.
The Mandalika circuit will be the first road circuit in Grand Prix motorcycle racing since the 1977 Yugoslav GP on the Opatija seaside circuit in Croatia.
The Mandalika circuit is also open to the public outside of racing, but has been specially designed to meet modern safety standards.
Indonesia is just one of several markets in which MotoGP is trying to raise its profile. Finland will return to the KymiRing for the first time since 1982 this year.
MotoGP recently signed a deal to put Hungary back on the calendar at the new Magyar Nemzetkozi Motodrome from 2023 after an alleged 10-year deal was signed.