THE Mandalika circuit in Indonesia heralded a return of MotoGP to the country after a 25-year hiatus. And the main race-day program was not without its drama, as the tropical weather did its best to put the dampeners on the competition.
Thankfully though, and with the help of a local weather handling Shamen, racing did get underway, with the riders splashing through large amounts of standing water on the way to the end of the race. And while we are on the subject of the end of the race - it arrived a little sooner than planned at the weekend, and it wasn't because the rain was getting heavier.
Riders on social media after the race were sharing images showing their torsos ending up caked in asphalt from the recently resurfaced track. This forced the organisers to chop seven laps off the race, of the already rain-delayed race I might add. And all of this from a circuit that was supposedly 'repaired' after the pre-season test at the venue saw even greater levels of deterioration.
It was though a big ask, for a circuit in such a hot and humid tropical location to provide a circuit of the same standard as the more temperate European venues. But the performance and integrity of the surface must cast a little doubt on future rounds at Mandalika. Rain is, after all, pretty inevitable in this region, and while that is not wholly responsible for the breaking up of the surface, it is a big part of the problem.
It's not even MotoGP events further down the line that are the big risk, WorldSBK is due to land at the venue in November. If the featherweight Moto2, Moto3, and MotoGP machines did this to the surface, imagine the damage the slightly heavier superbikes and their larger grid sizes found in worldSBK would do.
The circuit owners are now going to set to work resurfacing the venue, here's hoping they now have the time to do the job properly, as aside from the surface break up it was actually very good. Lots of grip in the wet and dry, and the layout seemed to promote the kind of close racing that MotoGP is so famous for.
