Qualla: Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: Introduction

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jeromi Mikhael, CC BY-SA 4.0. The rain was winning. On March 20, 2022, the first Indonesian motorcycle Grand Prix in twenty-five years was in danger of cancellation as a tropical downpour hammered the brand-new Mandalika circuit on Lombok's southern coast. Officials delayed the MotoGP race. Then the rain stopped -- coinciding, as Indonesian press gleefully reported, with the arrival of a shaman flown in specifically to repel the weather. Whether credit belonged to meteorology or the supernatural, the rain was the least of Mandalika's problems. The circuit's asphalt was already falling apart. New holes had appeared in a surface that had been repaved barely eleven days earlier, pelting riders with flying stones and forcing both the Moto2 and MotoGP races to be shortened. It was a fitting introduction to a venue that has, since its inception, seemed determined to generate as much drama off the track as on it.

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Image: Jeromi Mikhael | CC BY-SA 4.0

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: A Circuit Born of Ambition

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Government of Indonesia, Public domain. Indonesia last hosted World Championship motorcycle racing at the Sentul International Circuit near Jakarta, in 1996 and 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis shut the program down, and for two decades, the world's fourth-most-populous nation was absent from the global motorsport...

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Image: Government of Indonesia | Public domain

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: The Asphalt Problem

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Idabaguskanaka, CC BY-SA 4.0. From the moment professional riders first turned laps at Mandalika, the surface was a concern. During the World Superbike round in November 2021 -- the circuit's competitive debut -- Jonathan Rea noted the track was dirty, especially off the racing line. Other riders dismissed it...

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Image: Idabaguskanaka | CC BY-SA 4.0

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: Displaced Lives at Turn Nine

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Suryanata budi, CC BY-SA 4.0. The controversy that drew international attention to Mandalika had nothing to do with asphalt. In April 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report documenting human rights violations during the circuit's construction, citing reports of local residents forced ...

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Image: Suryanata budi | CC BY-SA 4.0

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: Presidents and Pit Lanes

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. Despite the difficulties, the circuit launched with presidential fanfare. On November 12, 2021, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the Mandalika International Circuit and personally drove a lap around the track. The Mandalika Grand Prix Association was formed four days later to ma...

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Image: Public domain

Mandalika: The Racetrack That Summoned a Shaman: Racing on the Edge

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit en:User:Chrisdev, Public domain. Mandalika's event calendar has expanded steadily despite the rocky start. The circuit hosts the Indonesian motorcycle Grand Prix as part of the MotoGP World Championship, and has added GT World Challenge Asia, endurance racing, and regional series to its annual schedule. The Supe...

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Image: en:User:Chrisdev | Public domain