Unwanted Incident of Opening Ducati Cargo Ahead of the WSBK Grand Prix in Indonesia

KOMPAS.com – An unwanted incident took place as Indonesia is gearing up to host the World Superbike (WSBK) motorcycle race at the Mandalika Circuit, Central Lombok district in West Nusa Tenggara province on November 19–21.

Swiss-based motorsport online media Speedweek reported on Wednesday, November 10, that a local WSBK Mandalika committee allegedly opened a Ducati cargo box and fiddled with the factory rider Michael Rinaldi’s motorbike following video footage and pictures it had received.

Only the Customs and Excise officials or their own team are authorized to open the cargo box to prevent industrial espionage and manipulation from others.

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WSBK Executive Director Gregorio Lavilla expressed his apologies to the team from Bologna, Italy. “We are very sorry that the incident is beyond our control,” Lavilla told Speedweek.com.

“The employee in question has been fired.”

It was also reported that Ducati’s sports director Paolo Ciabatti was very disappointed upon hearing the incident, which he described as a setback that happened 40 years ago and only in third world countries.

Speedweek.com also said that other cargo boxes may have also been opened illegally.
Director of strategy and communication of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) Happy K Harinto said that 70 WSBK motorcycles and 26 IATC (Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup) motorcycles arrived in Mandalika on Tuesday, November 9.

WSBK Mandalika is the last race of the 2021 WSBK World Championship.

Clarification on video footage

After the footage went viral on social media and the news was published, a YouTube channel user Soul Kuta Lombok claims to have published the video. The user wrote in a comment section that when the video was taken, the motorcycle was already opened. “The motorcycle had already been opened by the Customs and Excise officials to check the documents,” the user stated.

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“It was my fault to take the video during the inspection…thank you for reminding me as it taught me a very valuable lesson. I didn’t know it was not supposed to be published.”
At the time of publication, the YouTube channel user Soul Kuta Lombok could not be reached for comment.

The local customs and excise office

Meanwhile, the local customs and excise office in Mataram said that the opening of the cargo box of the Ducati motorcycle had been done according to the law and in the presence of the customs and excise officials.