TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya asserted that Indonesia would host MotoGP in 2017. Arief added that MotoGP promoter had assigned Indonesia to hold MotoGP events from 2017 to 2019.
"The promoter asked for a five-year period, but I gave them until 2019, because it would not exceed the current government's terms of office," Arief said in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 18, 2015.
Arief added that he could not approve the five-year period because it would exceed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's terms of office that will end in 2019. However, Arief said that the MotoGP promoter understood the reason.
The 2017 MotoGP World Championship is scheduled to be held at Sentul International Circuit, Bogor, West Java. Arief revealed that the government assigned the Youth and Sports Ministry as owner of the project. The ministry, Arief added, would later appoint an event organizer to work with the MotoGP promoter.
ALI HIDAYAT