MotoGP owners Dorna Sports has confirmed a street race in Indonesia will join the calendar in 2021, after a three-year deal with the Indonesian Tourist board was agreed last month.
Indonesia has been vying for a place on the calendar for some time, but plans continued to fall through despite Dorna's keenness to expand into this very lucrative market.
First reported by Motorsport.com last week, Dorna and the ITDC has confirmed a deal to bring MotoGP to Indonesia was signed on January 28.
The event is set to take place on a purpose-built street circuit on the island of Lombok, and will represent the first-ever MotoGP street race and the first grand prix to take place on close public roads since racing on the Brno road course ceased following the 1986 season.
“What a unique project this will be, having an urban, world class circuit in a country where MotoGP has such a huge following,” said Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta.
“Indonesia is a key market for us with a considerable percentage of motorsport fans living here and the MotoGP atmosphere will be even stronger once the circuit is complete.”
ITDC CEO Abdulbar M. Mansoer added: “We are very excited to have partnered up with Dorna and are delighted to be able to bring world-class motorsport events to Indonesia and the Mandalika in Lombok together.”
As well as MotoGP, the Dorna-owned World Superbike Championship will also race in Indonesia from 2021.
Ezpeleta first made mention of the possibility of an inaugural MotoGP street race early last year, while also confirming at least eight countries had expressed interest in hosting a race in the future.
The Indonesian Grand Prix will be the fourth Asian event on the calendar, following on from Malaysia, Japan and Thailand, which joined the schedule last season.
The current calendar stands at 19 races, with a 20th in Finland expected to be added for the 2020 campaign.
Dorna's current deal with the teams is for a maximum calendar length of 20 races, meaning the inclusion of Indonesia would see a current event axed, with one of the four Spanish races likely to be first in line.
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