Unlike last year’s race, which marked the series’ debut in Indonesia, the 2023 Jakarta E-Prix was a double-header. The Jakarta e-Prix Circuit in Ancol, North Jakarta, hosted the tenth and eleventh rounds of the Formula E World Championship back to back on Saturday and Sunday.

The championship is now in its ninth season.

Maserati MSG’s German driver Maximilian Gunther won Sunday’s race, while Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein won Saturday’s race, landing him the top spot in the season’s standings, ahead of Jake Dennis of Andretti Autosport. Last year’s Jakarta E-Prix winner, Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing, finished third in the Sunday race. He is now in fourth place in the overall standings.

Interim Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono, along with People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo, who heads the Jakarta E-Prix steering committee, presented the championship trophy to Gunther on the winner’s podium on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters after the awards ceremony, Heru said this year’s race had gone well but noted that some aspects could have been improved.

“[The race] has promoted Jakarta well and has been good for the economy and micro, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs]” Heru said, as quoted by Kompas.com.

“[But] it could have been better prepared,” he added.

Read also: Motorsport enthusiasts, officials hail Jakarta E-Prix a 'success'

As in the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix last year, city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) was this year’s race organizer, while the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) helped coordinate the participation of small businesses in the event.

Jakpro president director Iwan Takwin said some 40,000 tickets to the event had been sold as of Friday. Although this was below last year’s 60,000 tickets, Iwan still considered the race a success, particularly as Jakarta had been given the chance to host another race in 2024.

“[Formula E’s] trust [in Jakarta] has been the result of our successful holding of the race in 2022 and this year,” he said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.com. “The plan is to hold [next year’s] race on June 8.”

Reports emerged earlier this year that the Jakarta administration was planning to move away from the Ancol circuit – which was completed just months before last year’s race – and would instead use the city’s existing thoroughfares, including Jl. Sudirman, as a circuit.

Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo, who was in attendance on Sunday, said authorities were considering turning the race into a nighttime event, amid widespread complaints from visitors about the capital’s heat on both Saturday and Sunday.

“I have heard that for next year, the concept for [Jakarta’s Formula E] will be a night race. I think that would be more suitable, since it would be a more enjoyable experience [for the visitors],” Dito said on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Read also: 2023 Formula E: No more politics, says steering committee deputy

Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and his wife and family were among the thousands of visitors that gathered to watch Saturday’s race. Anies had been instrumental in keeping Jakarta’s dream of hosting the 2022 E-Prix alive, as he insisted on pressing on with the project despite a two-year delay and political and financial concerns stemming from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Now a presumptive presidential nominee backed by two opposition parties and a pro-government party that has been rocked by a corruption scandal, Anies noted that there had been improvements in the hosting of this year’s race. But he refused to be drawn into comparisons with last year’s race, which occurred while he was governor.

“​​I am just here to watch. Let others decide” if this year’s race had been a success or not, he told reporters.

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