North Jakarta’s waterfront complex Ancol is set to host the inaugural Formula E race in Jakarta next year after original plans to hold the race around the National Monument (Monas) fell through.
Ahmad Sahroni, who heads the Jakarta race committee, confirmed that roads within Ancol will be transformed into a race track. The race is scheduled for June 4, 2022.
“This has been approved by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and FEO (Formula E Operation). The two institutions have surveyed and evaluated the available sites [for the race track],” Ahmad said in Ancol today.
Plans for the race track show that it will cover a distance of 2.4 kilometers per lap, featuring 18 turns and a 600 meter straight.
Another site previously strongly considered for the race track was JIExpo Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
In 2019, Jakarta secured the right to host one Formula E race each year for the next five years. Monas was chosen to host what was supposed to be the country’ first electric-powered car race due to its iconic landmark status, but the central government vetoed the plan as the site is home to several cultural heritage landmarks and government offices.
The first Jakarta race was scheduled for June 6, 2020, but the event was postponed amid rising coronavirus cases in the capital and throughout Indonesia.
The race was postponed again in 2021 due to the country’s COVID-19 crisis.
The Jakarta Formula E race has been dogged in controversy due to the provincial government’s insistence on allocating huge sums for the event — larger than the city’s budget for flood mitigation, for instance.
