The Mandalika track was discovered by the protagonists of a MotoGP who will return to the site on March 20 to experience the first Indonesian Grand Prix in decades. A prologue that three days of off-season testing allowed and which did not go as well as hoped. Certainly, the main thing is except with generally favorable comments on the design of the route. But the latter revealed worrying weaknesses in terms of its coating. Work must be done urgently. And for good reason…
It is under the sign of urgency that Indonesia is preparing the arrival of MotoGP on its lands on the island of Lombok. A circuit of Mandalika was drawn there, and the pilots surveyed it for three days. Or almost. Because there are things to review, and even imperatively following a agreement made between the promoter and the local organizer. The latter must therefore review the bitumen of part of its route which has the unfortunate tendency to disintegrate to the point of sending stones onto the drivers. The speeds of passage are such that these stones become real projectiles capable of injuring the protagonists.
Mandalika: “there was clearly an error in the design of the asphalt in certain sections of the circuit”
We will recall that Pecco Bagnaia was hit in the arm with a large bruise, “ imagine what could happen in a race, when you are in a group, if one of these stones hits the radiator, it will hole it » he declared. After a few laps behind his teammate Franco Morbidelli, fabio quartararo said he was hit by a shower of stones. With hindsight and analysis, we came to the conclusion at Dorna that something was not done according to the rules. The boss Carmelo Ezpeleta even declared in comments spotted on GP One that "there was clearly an error in the design of the asphalt in certain sections of the circuit"
Franco Uncini, FIM safety manager, has asked the circuit to resurface turns 16 to 7. Time is running out, as the Indonesian Grand Prix is scheduled for the weekend of 18 at 20 March. The work has nevertheless begun and is being carried out by the same company which was responsible for the construction of the circuit. Everything must be completed by March 10. After this, the FIM and Dorna will return to Mandalika to provide a homologation-related assessment, To be continued…
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