The unfamiliar location of Sumbawa, in Indonesia, will be the host of the 12th round of the 2022 MXGP World Championships this weekend and that’s where no individual will have any advantage.
Series leader Tim Gajser and his rivals too will have to cope with racing on a completely new circuit, built specifically for this event.
Located on the island east of Lombok, the logistical undertaking to get everything in place for this round has been considerable, but having not visited this region since 2019, when Slovenian rider Gajser won both rounds, it was important to return here and give the large contingent of Honda riders in Indonesia something to cheer about.
In 2019 the rounds were held in Palembang and Semarang, but the images coming from Sumbawa suggest this could be the most impressive track the MXGP series has visited in the country, with the entire facility purpose-built, featuring not just a motocross track but room for a large festival too.
And hopefully that will mean a large number of the local population turn up and give this an exciting atmosphere, with Gajser and his Australian team-mate Mitch Evans likely to be among the fan-favourites.
Both riders had good events in Germany, with Gajser winning the GP and extending his championship lead to 101 points with eight rounds remaining.
It was his seventh win in 11 rounds a further proof that he is still the rider to beat after a couple of tough outings.
The weekend is schedule is slightly changed for this “overseas” (outside of Europe) round, with the Saturday qualifying race taking place at 16:10 local time (10:10 CET) and the two Sunday gate-drops happening at 13:15 and 16:10 (07:15 and 10:10 CET).
“It was nice to get back to winning ways in Germany last round, after the difficult previous events,” said Gajser.
“It gave me a nice boost heading into this round, which almost breaks up the season a bit. With a weekend off before it, and a couple of weekends off afterwards, it gives everyone a chance to recharge a bit and just recover before the final push.
“It is good to be heading back to Indonesia as it is an important event for the status of the world championship and for Honda, who dominate the motorcycle industry out there.
“I hope lots of fans will attend, and the photos and videos of the track make it seem really good, so I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
Photo courtesy Honda
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 485 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 384 p.; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 366 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 365 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 330 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 304 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, HUS), 252 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 250 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, BET), 229 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 227 p.
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 460 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 452 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, GAS), 353 p.; 4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 326 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 319 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 282 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 266 p.; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 255 p.; 9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 249 p.; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 231 p.