JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PT Hutama Karya (Persero) (Hutama Karya/ HK) recently held a grand international sports event "HK Endurance Challenge 2021: Lombok Series" on Sunday, October 10, 2021, at Gili Air Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Over 100 participants, ranging from athletes to elites from 18 countries including Indonesia, participated at the sport tourism event.
The event brought together the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Zulkieflimansyah; the Deputy Regent of North Lombok Dani Karter Febrianto; Secretary General of the Indonesian Triathlon Federation (FTI), Brigadier General Erwin Septiansyah; and Director of Operations I Hutama Karya Novias Nurendra.
"HK Endurance Challenge 2021: Lombok Series" is a part of MotoGP pre-event series which embraces the concept of physical endurance sports exhibition such as inter-island swimming, swimming, and running. The event is expected to recover the tourism and creative economy in Lombok and its neighboring islands.
The challenge began with a 2-km swim from Gili Air to Sire Beach guided by several boats with Sasak tribal drums on the both sides of the route, followed by a 100-km bicycle ride from Sire Beach to Kuta Mandalika through North Lombok Regency, Central Lombok, and Mataram City.
In Kuta Mandalika, the participants ran around the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for 3 laps, or 21 km, for the last challenge. The circuit, managed by ITDC, will be the venue for international motorcycle racing events Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) and World Superbike (WSBK) 2021, as well as MotoGP 2022. Local residents also cheered at the participants on both sides of the roads, waving their Indonesian flags.
The HK Endurance Challenge 2021 Race has enforced strict health protocols which required each participant to have a COVID-19 PCR test before participating in any of the activities.
"So far, everything went smoothly as we made sure there were no problems. Participants enjoyed the challenge and routes while seeing the beauty of Lombok. We have prioritized safety and hospitality during this event," said Beny Yusron, the HK Endurance Challenge 2021 Race Director.
Hutama Karya noted that almost all participants managed to reach the finish line. Andy Wibowo, a representative of the elite Triathlon from Indonesia, was the first participant who successfully reached the finish line. Andy managed to complete the 2-km swimming challenge in 18 minutes and 4 hours 59 minutes to complete all challenges.
"I am very happy to be in Lombok, participating in the event. For me this is one of the best triathlon events. Along with all participants at this event, we are very honored to be the first persons who ever tried this circuit," said Andy.
The next finisher who also represented Indonesia, Yan Bachtiar, was named the champion of the HK Endurance Challenge 2021 for the Male Category, with a distance of 123 km and a completion time of 5 hours 30 minutes.
In addition to the HK Endurance Challenge 2021, Hutama Karya also provides the construction of educational facilities in Lombok through charity programs around the activities' routes.
