While the Republic of Indonesia is the world’s fifth most populous nation, and the largest by far in the Southeast Asian region, there has never been a strong tradition of motor racing, either in terms of audience interest or competitor participation.

This has gradually changed in recent years, thanks to the exciting and fiercely competitive ‘underbone’ racing of small-displacement step-through production motorcycles, nearly identical to the millions that ply the roads of Indonesia each day. Energetic newspaper, magazine and television coverage have gone far toward generating interest for the sport as well.

Naturally, the value of such welcome publicity did not go unrecognised by manufacturers, oil & gas suppliers, apparel and accessory makers, and others who stood to benefit commercially from racing successes.

Thus within the last several decades a support sector for motorcycle racing has gradually emerged; while the Asian financial crisis of 1998 inflicted severe damage on enterprises (and the public’s pocketbooks as well), a modest recovery in the past decade has been paralleled by the expansion of the sport of motorcycle competition across Indonesia.

Mechanical Engineer Benny Djati Utomo determined to use the technical knowledge he had gained as a student at Atmajaya University of Jakarta to build a new and competitive racing team, starting in 2000. He thus resigned from the Suzuki Factory Racing Department, just when the effects of the ‘krismon’ were still quite severe. His Company, Star Motor, worked out of a small bengkel or workshop on Jl. Casablanca in Central Jakarta, near the Jl. Sudirman overpass, and specialised in performance tuning of enthusiasts’ motorcycles. The greater part of his research and development of performance modifications was directed at building power in two-stroke engines, as the major shift by manufacturers to four-strokes was just beginning (apart from Honda, which had historically favored four-stroke designs for its road motorcycles).

Extracting more power – without sacrificing reliability – from these small-displacement production engines was a major challenge, as every aspect of these motorcycles was constrained by severe cost limitations: motorcycle sales were extremely price-sensitive.

Benny’s first love has always been racing competition, and at one time he himself briefly considered pursuing motocross racing in Indonesia; soon, however, he discovered his true metier, building race machines and (later) sponsoring riders in local bebek events, in classes sponsored by the national governing body, Ikatan Motor Indonesia.

Most participants were racing on their own or for dealers; sponsorship was still minimal, compared to that of other Asian countries, such as Australia, Thailand, Malaysia or Japan. But this began to change, as a result of severely competitive marketing among manufacturers.

Benny’s tuned Hondas, Suzukis, Cagivas and Yamahas soon began to win races, in the capable hands of riders such as Popi Sugianto, Ahmad Jayadi, Bima Aditya, etc. Early on he found reliability to be a central concern: while the Japanese machines were extremely reliable and long-lasting in standard form, designed to transport citizens comfortably, reliably, safely and inexpensively, they would not withstand the extreme stresses of racing. A piston costing USD 12.00 to replace would be a joy and a delight for owners and motorcycle repair shops, but one can easily imagine what would happen when this component, designed to produce a reliable 7HP at 8,500rpm, was asked to put out 20HP+ at 14,000rpm.

Suspension, frame, tire and other standard inexpensive components quickly proved they were not up to the challenge of road racing in Bali, Medan, Sulawesi or Jogjakarta, all across Indonesia and South East Asian Countries and within the narrow restrictions imposed by the organiser (restrictions designed to keep costs down, allowing the average working-class rider a competitive chance to secure a podium finish on his own machine) modifications were steadily made, building horsepower, handling, response and reliability.

A new generation of ambitious young riders emerged, and from this talent pool Benny Djati Utomo selected the stars of tomorrow: Hokky Krisdianto, Harlan Fadhillah, Sudarmono, etc.

STAR RACING WOKSHOP at present time: