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Palembang to host Motocross World Championship in July
Daredevil: A motocross athlete does a routine during the 2018 MXGP motocross world championship in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands, on July 1, 2018
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D
aredevil: A motocross athlete does a routine during the 2018 MXGP motocross world championship in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands, on July 1, 2018. This year, Indonesia will hold two MXGP series — one in Palembang, South Sumatra, and another in Semarang, Central Java — in July.(Courtesy of mxgp.com)
Palembang of South Sumatra is to host a series of Motocross Grand Prix (MXGP) races, in Jakabaring Sport City on July 7, the organizers have announced.
“As many as 28 motocrossers will take part in the MXGP Palembang,” Indonesian Motorcycle Association (IMI) chief Sadikin Aksa said on Monday after signing a memorandum of understanding on the Palembang series with the South Sumatra administration in Palembang.
In the 2019 calendar, the motocross racing world championship, sanctioned by the International Federation of Motorcycling (FIM), is to roll out 20 series – with Indonesia, Hong Kong and China hosting the Asian races while the rest are to be held in Europe.
This is the third year in a row Indonesia has hosted the event. In 2017 and 2018 it took place in Pangkalpinang of the Bangka Belitung Islands.
Besides Palembang, Semarang of Central Java is to also host a series on July 14.
Nevertheless, Sadikin said he was still waiting for a follow-up from the Semarang organizers, adding that should the city not be ready then all of the Indonesian series would be held in Palembang instead.
The MXGP is scheduled to hold races in Russia, Latvia and Germany throughout June before coming to Indonesia.
Sadikin said that the IMI chose Palembang to host the series because of its readiness to provide proper support for sports tourism.
Ahead of the July 7 race, the organizers are to work on the 1.6-kilometer track in the Jakabaring Sport City shortly after the Idul Fitri holidays.
“We’re confident about the Jakabaring track. I believe we have more than enough space to hold the event. The area can hold up to 30,000 spectators,” said Sadikin.
In the 2018 event in Pangkalpinang, the MXGP had approximately 3,000 spectators.
South Sumatra governor Herman Deru said he hoped the MXGP race would boost the economy in Palembang. “I really hope [by hosting the race] South Sumatra will get good exposure to the world.”
The governor said his administration would not use the regional administration’s state budget to host the event. He encourages sponsorships from state-owned and regional administration state-owned enterprises and private sector companies for the race.
