TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Jakarta walks alone to 2020 Formula E race

A Jakarta-based motorsports fan is worried that the capital city is running into trouble financing the 2020 Formula E race

Ramadani Saputra (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, November 16, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Jakarta walks alone to 2020 Formula E race

A Jakarta-based motorsports fan is worried that the capital city is running into trouble financing the 2020 Formula E race.

As a dedicated motorsports fan, Resi Respati was so excited to welcome the arrival of the Formula E, a racing competition for electric vehicles also known as the Jakarta ePrix, to the capital next year.

The event, which is slated to be held on June 6 nurses his longing for an internationally prestigious motorsports competition in the country.

The street circuit in the June race is to be 3 kilometers in length and take place around the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta. The race would be the only world-level event Indonesia is to host in 2020.

The last time Indonesia hosted a world-level racing event was the GP2 series in 2008, which is now called Formula 2 — one level below the Formula One single-seater race. The 2008 event was held in the Sentul International Circuit in Bogor, West Java.

“Whenever [the Jakarta race organizers] start selling the tickets I will definitely buy one in a heartbeat,” Resi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

However, Resi said he would not take sides in a dispute involving the organization of the race, which has created a buzz in the public — some arguing that it would be a waste of money, which would be of more benefit if used to pay for necessities such as the revitalization of schools and sports centers in Jakarta.

He said the controversy was understandable as the event would take almost Rp 1.7 trillion (US$120 million) from Jakarta’s budget.

“I will be biased for this event because I’m still a motorsports fan at heart. I will support it. But on the other side, I understand why many people are questioning the unnecessarily large budget for it.

“I’m really afraid that the organizers will fall into the same trap as Montreal did when they had to cancel [the final two of three planned racing seasons] due to a budget spike,” he said, referring to Montreal, Canada’s deal to host the race in the 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 seasons.

The city decided to end the deal because of financial problems that surrounded the inaugural event, poor cash flows and ticket revenues that failed to meet the target, the Montreal Gazette reported.

Novi Arisandy, 25, similarly expressed pessimism over the Formula E race, saying the event would not have much of an impact on promoting green technology.

The 2020 Formula E agenda in Jakarta had stirred public debate over the past week, with many questioning the benefits it would bring to the city.

The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) faction in the Jakarta Legislative Council first brought up the issue, questioning the importance of the event as they thought there had been no investment study about the possible drawbacks and benefits of running the event.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said he expected the race to boost the economy by up to Rp 1.2 trillion. Anies also claimed that 35,000 people would flock to see the 2020 race — projecting the number from a recent commemoration of the Islamic New Year that had about 400,000 packing the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.