The visit took place just days before the Indonesian Grand Prix, scheduled for October 3–5 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Central Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara.
“Hello everybody. I’m super happy to be back in Indonesia after becoming world champion three days ago. And yes, Mandalika will be the first circuit I race on since being crowned,” Marquez said at a press conference following his meeting with President Prabowo.
Arriving at Merdeka Palace around 4:30 p.m. local time, the Spanish rider spent about an hour with the president.
Wearing a red Ducati team polo shirt, the seven-time world champion later departed the palace accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir and two young Indonesian riders, Mario Suryo Aji and Veda Ega Pratama, who also attended the meeting.
Marquez expressed excitement about returning to Mandalika Circuit.
“I’ll try to enjoy the race, as I know I have a lot of fans here. This is the best circuit and the best country to enjoy it,” he said.
Marquez clinched his seventh MotoGP title after finishing second at the Japan GP at Motegi Circuit on Sunday (September 28), equaling the long-standing record held by legend Valentino Rossi.
He arrived in Jakarta the following afternoon via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, as confirmed through his Instagram account @marcmarquez93.
The 2025 Mandalika MotoGP will kick off this Friday (October 3) with practice sessions, followed by qualifying and the sprint race on Saturday (October 4), and the main race on Sunday (October 5). This marks Marquez’s third appearance at the circuit; he did not finish in his previous two Mandalika races.
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Translator: Mentari D, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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