Governor Zulkieflimansyah has voiced West Nusa Tenggara’s readiness to host the 2021 Superbike World Championship (WSBK) on Nov 19-21 at the Mandalika International Street Circuit.
The governor detailed the province’s preparations for the international event during a coordination meeting with officials of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Central Lombok, Sunday (Sept 26).
He stated that the province’s vaccination coverage had reached 40 percent, with the Central Lombok region expected to reach a 70-percent rate this week, increasing by 20 percent from the earlier period.
The province will see its vaccination rate continue to increase, as the local authority accelerates vaccination efforts in the region and reports the results to the central government, he added. Apart from expediting vaccination, the province has currently also readied the airport, Mandalika Bypass road, and regional hospital to host the competition’s participants.
The province’s authority is optimistic that preparations would be completed on time before the race begins in November, the governor stated.
Meanwhile, Central Lombok Regional Secretary L. Firman Wijaya ensured the regional authority’s support to the Superbike World Championship, albeit reminding the competition organizer to allocate space for Central Lombok’s MSMEs.
“The international competition would bring great economic potential to the region, and we should ensure the local residents would play a greater role than merely a match spectator,” Wijaya stated. The organizer should arrange a bubble travel system to ensure the safety of the participants and officials during the competition, the regional secretary stated.
The Central Lombok authority has prepared a landfill to accommodate waste from the Mandalika circuit and the special economic zone encompassing the circuit, he added.
The final round of the Superbike World Championship race is scheduled on November 19-21, 2021. The organizer had earlier set the race date on November 12-14, but factors pertaining to logistics and equipment delivery caused them to push the date ahead for a week.
The one-week delay allows the organizer to make more thorough preparations for the race, as they are required to make arrangements to handle the race spectators’ movements, participants’ accommodation, and health protocol enforcement during the event.
Apart from hosting the WSBK Championship, the Mandalika Circuit has been granted a slot to host the MotoGP pre-season race on February 11-13, 2022, which takes place a week after the first pre-season race in Sepang Circuit, Selangor, Malaysia.
Source: Antara News