Indonesia had previously hosted World Championship motorcycle racing in 1996 and 1997 and the Superbike World Championship from 1994 to 1997, all at the Sentul International Circuit near Jakarta. A financial crisis in the late 1990s ended those arrangements. The Mandalika circuit was conceived to revive international motorsport in Indonesia while also serving as the anchor attraction for the wider Mandalika Special Economic Zone and resort development on Lombok.
The Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) obtained the Land Management Rights certificate for the circuit site from the National Land Agency in late 2016. In January 2017, managing director of Mrk1 Consulting Mark Hughes sketched the initial circuit layout in Lombok. A memorandum of understanding between ITDC and Roadgrip Motorsports was signed on 20 January 2017, and in November 2017 Vinci Grand Construction Projects signed a contract to build the circuit with an investment value of 6.5 trillion Rupiah. The state oil company Pertamina paid approximately US$7 million for the naming rights under a contract valid through the end of 2022.
The track is promoted as a street circuit concept, with the stated intention of opening the outer roadways to public access between race events to serve the surrounding resort development. The main race circuit itself is not accessible to the public outside of events. The layout was designed to promote overtaking, with Marc Marquez describing it as simple in terms of layout but interesting due to its conditions. Pol Espargaro praised its character, noting it has a little bit of everything. The surface uses Stone Mastic Asphalt, a rougher asphalt type chosen to strengthen tyre grip.
The circuit's first race weekend, the November 2021 Superbike World Championship round, exposed significant surface quality concerns. Multiple riders highlighted a dirty track outside the racing line, with gravel and debris present from the freshly laid surface. The MotoGP pre-season test held in February 2022 revealed more serious structural deficiencies: riders including Jorge Martin, Aleix Espargaro, Andrea Dovizioso, and Francesco Bagnaia complained of sharp gravel and crumbling asphalt. The first day of testing was suspended for several hours for cleaning. Subsequent investigation identified that the asphalt aggregate used was finer than the specified grade and had not been properly prepared, causing it to chip and crumble.
A repaving operation was completed on 9 March 2022, seven days before the scheduled Indonesian motorcycle Grand Prix on 20 March. During practice for that first Grand Prix weekend, however, new holes again appeared in the resurfaced sections. The Moto2 and MotoGP races were shortened as a result, and the MotoGP race was also delayed by heavy rain. Riders called for a full repaving before the following year's event. The circuit was granted FIM Grade A homologation on 18 March 2022, following an upgrade from the Grade B rating it held at the time of the 2021 Superbike round.
The construction of the Mandalika circuit generated significant controversy relating to land rights. Multiple local landowners reported that their land was acquired by ITDC without adequate compensation or due process. In April 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report documenting human rights concerns arising from the construction, citing the displacement of members of the local ethnic Sasak community. The Indonesian government disputed the UN's characterisation of events as false and hyperbolic, and stated its commitment to transparency and compensation.
In October 2021, a hamlet located within the circuit perimeter between corners 5 and 8 was accessible only via two tunnels, one of which flooded to chest height during rain, cutting off residents for approximately one week. The situation was subsequently resolved. Multiple disputes over unpaid land compensation remained unresolved as late as February 2022, according to Indonesian press reporting.
In November 2021, the MGPA chief operating officer was dismissed following derogatory remarks directed at circuit marshals.
The circuit hosts the Indonesian motorcycle Grand Prix as part of the MotoGP World Championship. It previously hosted the Superbike World Championship and Supersport World Championship from 2021 to 2023. Current annual events include the GT World Challenge Asia, the Asia Road Racing Championship, and the Mandalika Racing Series. A fatality occurred at the circuit in 2023, when Haruki Noguchi died at the Mandalika Asia Road Racing Championship round.
The Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit represents Indonesia's most significant attempt to re-establish itself as a host of international motorcycle racing after the withdrawal of the 1990s. The circuit's early years were marked by material and surface quality challenges that complicated its debut on the MotoGP calendar, as well as broader controversies over land acquisition. Nonetheless, the facility's location within one of Asia's most ambitious tourism development zones gives it long-term strategic importance for both Indonesian motorsport and the wider MotoGP commercial calendar.