The A1 Grand Prix comes to Indonesia

It ain’t often that an international sporting event takes place in Indonesia, so it’s good to see that the country is hosting the next round of the A1 Grand Prix this Saturday:

All 50 racers from 25 participating countries have arrived in Indonesia and are ready to compete in the eighth leg of the A1 Grand Prix Series at the Sentul International Circuit in Bogor, south of Jakarta.

"All the teams arrived here Tuesday evening. No delays have been reported, so far. We are just awaiting the arrival of A1 GP founder Syekh Maktoum (Hasher Maktoum Al-Maktoum) here," organizers A1 Team Indonesia deputy chairman Basuki Wijayakusuma told The Jakarta Post over the phone Wednesday.

But who to support?

I guess I’d like to see Indonesia, the UK, Holland, India and South Africa do well, but even so it’s difficult to get that excited by the race to be honest.

After all, who really cares about nationalities anyway?

Because sport is far more interesting when you are rooting for someone you like rather than the country they represent.

Like Valentino Rossi for example, who is much loved by Moto GP enthusiasts across the world because of his charismatic personality, just as much as his brilliant riding skills. It’s not because he’s Italian.

But full marks to the organisers who scheduled tomorrow’s race to take place right in the middle of the monsoon season. If it rains – which it has been doing on most days recently in Jakarta – then things could get very interesting. The cars will be sliding all over the place, just like on a scalextrix track. Don’t expect too many to finish.

The French currently lead the standings with 119 points, followed by Switzerland in second place with 92.

Understandably, security will be a top priority tomorrow, with the military deploying over 1,200 troops to safeguard the event.

And the French should be pleased to hear that. Especially in light of recent events….