The safety problem MotoGP's fraught Indonesia return exposed

The event, which was initially due to debut in 2021 before being suspended due to the COVID pandemic, was able to go ahead on Sunday after a morning of uncertainty and suspense. And, paradoxically, it was the same torrential rain that forced the MotoGP start to be postponed for an hour and a quarter that made it possible for the second stop on the calendar and the first event in Indonesia in 25 years to be completed.

PLUS: The war within taking its toll on MotoGP's king

It mattered little that Race Direction had to shorten the total distance of the premier class race by seven laps (from 27 to 20), and that a while earlier it had left the Moto2 class at only 16, when it should have reached 25. There were few on the developing island of Lombok who thought that the world championship caravan could leave without racing. There is probably no image that better reflects this desperate desire to go ahead than the rain shaman strolling through a waterlogged pitlane, shouting at the sky to turn off the tap.

Whether her ritual had an effect or not, the fact is that the storm suddenly subsided and a window was opened, which was used to set in motion the quick grid formation protocol. On a statistical and contractual level, the championship fulfilled its objective; it is another matter whether it did so by the standards it is supposed to.

As mentioned, the rain was an ally from the first session on Friday. Without it, the prototypes of the three divisions, especially those of MotoGP, which are close to producing 300 horsepower, would have torn up the asphalt that had been laid two weeks earlier between Turn 17 and Turn 5, a stretch of 1.6 kilometres in distance. This was the agreement that was reached after riders were shocked by the poor state of the circuit during the three days of pre-season testing held a month earlier.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

By the time it was decided to implement the emergency plan, it was too late. Despite the efforts and tireless work during the three weeks prior to the grand prix, the extreme weather in the area, with extreme temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius in the air - and 67 degrees on-track - and the violence of the rains in the middle of the monsoon season, prevented the surface from settling before the bikes took to the track for the first free practice.

"We should not be in this situation; the world championship should not be in this situation. They did everything they could to fix the circuit, but it wasn't enough" Alex Rins

Last Wednesday, Simon Gardini, general manager of Roadgrip Motorsport Indonesia (RMI), claimed that the resurfacing process had gone "even better than expected, given the narrow margin of manoeuvring that was available". The second part of the statement already hinted that the action plan was completely conditioned by the need to finish the works on time. As expected and as everyone saw, the result was not up to the level expected in MotoGP, especially in the last section of the track, and especially in the last corner, where the ground was rising up to pieces. That was the reason why Race Direction decreed the reduction of the race distance on Sunday.

In spite of all these eventualities, the riders lowered the tone of their criticisms of the circuit compared to those voiced a month earlier. They even called an emergency meeting to decide what could be done to clear a track that was more typical of the MX1 motocross World Championship than of MotoGP during the test. The pieces of the cement itself shot out like projectiles as the motorcycles passed, and even caused some bruises to those riding behind.

Track cleaning after Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP oil spill

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In the end it was decided that the riders themselves, with their own trajectories, would open up a path along which they could ride, even if it was the only one possible. Whoever went off-line went to the ground, and trying to overtake someone was like playing Russian roulette.

Ahead of the grand prix, all the parties involved, from the organisers to the manufacturers, who have one of their main markets in Indonesia, and the sponsors, strove to send out a message of positivity, more focused on the overexertion made than on the seams that were visible.

However, there was no way to completely disguise the feeling of improvisation that does not play in favour of the image of the championship, as the sub-par nature of the track passed by some people after the odyssey that became the MotoGP race - a real survival exercise, both for the holes in the asphalt, for the stones and for the practically null visibility.

"We should not be in this situation; the world championship should not be in this situation. They did everything they could to fix the circuit, but it wasn't enough," Alex Rins told Autosport.

The Barcelona native soon after posted a photo on his social networks, in which he showed his torso full of cement debris, which had peppered the inside of his overalls: "It was all very strange. Half of the circuit was resurfaced, but the ground was still rising. Surely next year everything will be in better condition," added Joan Mir, his Suzuki team-mate.

"I ended up with my eyes full of stones and dirt, and I'm sure the organiser will take into account what happened," continued Pol Espargaro.

At this point, it is clear that this episode deserves a deep reflection to try to avoid a repetition of this. And if one thing is clear, it is that the root of the problem was not laziness, because recent visits to the facility were made. Franco Uncini, safety delegate of MotoGP governing body the FIM, and Loris Capirossi, Dorna's representative, went to Mandalika in April 2021. Another delegation was present during the premiere of the track at the WorldSBK round in November. And the last inspection took place during the pre-season tests in February, when it was too late to correct.

If it was so important to return to race in Indonesia, there is no doubt that more care should have been taken to ensure that at least the track would be in the conditions that a MotoGP grand prix deserves.

Darryn Binder, RNF MotoGP Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images