Fieten Olie Racing GP aims to keep momentum in tropical heat in Indonesia

This weekend, the fifteenth Grand Prix of the season will be held at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia. It will be the second time a Grand Prix has been run at the new circuit on the island of Lombok located near the Indian Ocean.

The overseas race series started well for Fieten Olie Racing GP with points for Zonta van den Goorbergh and Barry Baltus in the two races at the Buddh International Circuit in India and the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan. After a weekend off, three consecutive Grand Prix weekends are now coming up with the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia being the first, followed by the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia and the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

On Zonta van den Goorbergh’s side, it is visible that big strides have been made since the summer break. The 17-year-old Dutchman has rewarded himself and the team in the past two races with impressive points’ finishes so the task will be to continue in the same way. Barry Baltus experienced some more problems in the last races although he still managed to score points. The 19-year-old Belgian will want to turn the tide to finish a bit closer to the top.

Barry Baltus: “I am looking forward to go racing in Indonesia again this weekend, although I don’t have particularly great memories from that place as last year I broke my hand on Saturday morning. The track, however, is very nice and I look forward to ride there again. I had a busy weekend at home with a Supermoto race in Mettet, which I enjoyed a lot. I feel ready to fight again this weekend.”

Zonta van den Goorbergh: “After a weekend’s rest, we return to work in Indonesia this weekend. After two good races in a row we started the overseas trip well, so I can’t wait to resume this weekend. I decided not to go home in between but to spend a week in Indonesia so I am well rested to go for it this weekend.”

Jarno Janssen – Fieten Olie Racing GP team manager: “We had two fantastic races in India and Japan. Then we had a well-deserved week of rest after which we are now embarking on another long trip, starting in Indonesia. It will be three intense weeks but we were able to refuel a bit this week, Zonta and Barry each spent the time in their own way. Zonta stayed in Indonesia while Barry took part in the Supermoto World Championship race in Belgium. He certainly did well with a top eight ranking, and it is nice that he was able to show himself there in front of his own fans.

Now we look ahead to Indonesia, a circuit we visited for the first time last year. It is a beautiful circuit in beautiful surroundings on the island of Lombok. Last year we were a bit unlucky there with a wrist fracture for Barry, hopefully we will have a bit more luck now and be able to continue in the way we started in India and Japan. In any case, we are heading towards the race weekend in Indonesia in good spirits.”

The time difference with Indonesia is six hours. The race weekend at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit begins with two practice sessions on Friday and one practice session on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying Saturday afternoon at 13:45 local time (07:45 Central European summer time). The 22-lap race will start Sunday afternoon at 13:15 local time (07:15 CEST).