The president's statement was made after hosting 20 MotoGP racers at an audience in the Merdeka Palace before sending off the racers for a parade to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout located three kilometers south of the Palace on Wednesday.
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"I told them that Indonesia has a total of 122 million motorcycles, and I also told them that they have a lot of fans from Indonesia," Jokowi remarked.
Jokowi said that he earlier intended to join the parade convoy with the 20 MotoGP racers, yet due to several reasons, he was suggested not to join the parade.
"I could not ride the motorcycle on my own (for the parade) due to security reasons," the president affirmed.
After hosting MotoGP racers and engaging in a brief conversation with them at the Merdeka Palace, President Jokowi sent off the racers' convoy for a parade from the Palace to Hotel Indonesia Roundabout.
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As observed by Antara, the racers rode bikes produced by manufacturing teams, such as Honda, KTM, Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha, and Suzuki.
The MotoGP racers' convoy is guarded by police and military officers, and dozens of motorcycle riders from various bike communities also joined the parade behind the racers.
While slowly riding their bike, MotoGP racers greeted and waved out to the fans and media crews spectating the parade along the three-kilometer road.
At 10:15 a.m. local time (UTC +7), police officers reopened entry to the southward lane of the Medan Merdeka Barat Road and MH Thamrin Road as well as the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout that was earlier sterilized for the parade.
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Translator: Walda Marison, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
