Valentino Rossi "is very curious because he never rode Lombok”
“He wants to try it...”
Team owner Valentino Rossi was present only in the form of a video message during VR46’s MotoGP team launch in Jakarta on Saturday.
But team director and best friend Alessio Salucci is confident that it won’t be long before the nine-time world champion returns to Indonesia.
“I hope very quickly, but Vale has a lot of things to do with the cars, the testing, and the second baby girl has just arrived,” Uccio said.
“Valentino came here to Jakarta for many, many years [for PR events with Yamaha]. He likes Indonesia a lot, but especially he wants to try Lombok!
“He is very curious because he never rode Lombok and when [MotoGP] went for the first time he said to me, ‘explain the track’.
“I said ‘It’s fantastic. A lot of fast corners, slow corners. Very technical’. For sure he’d like it. He wants to try it. And if he wants to try, he’ll try!
“I don’t know when he’s coming back but I hope soon, also for the fans because 80% of our followers are from Indonesia. It’s unbelievable. A big pleasure.”
Rossi raced in Indonesia as a 125GP rider at Sentul in 1996 and 1997 but retired from MotoGP just a few months before Mandalika made its delayed debut on the 2022 calendar.
“I wish Valentino Rossi all the best in his retirement. The whole country is extremely sad he announces his retirement just before the event in Mandalika," Ricky Baheramsjah, CEO of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association, said at the time.
"Of course, we would love to have him in the circuit. We would welcome him with open arms. Our door will always be open for him if he would like to just come and test sometime."
One possibility, Uccio said, is that Rossi might attend this October’s MotoGP to support the VR46 team of Fabio di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli “if we are fighting for something important”.
But the best way to guarantee Rossi’s return to Indonesia is simple.
“We need to get WEC, the car racing series [Rossi competes in], to make a race in Lombok!" Salucci said.
“Then for sure Vale is coming back!”
VR46’s title sponsor is the Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
