Lombok’s Traditional Sapuk Become Official Merchandise for 2026 Mandalika MotoGP

RRI.CO.ID, Mataram - Sapuk, the traditional headband of the Lombok community in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), will be featured as one of the official merchandise items at the 2026 Mandalika MotoGP. The inclusion of this local cultural product is part of an effort to expand access for NTB’s creative economy actors to international events.

Chairperson of the Regional Leadership Board of the National Creative Economy Movement (Gekrafs) in NTB, Yeyen Seprian Rachmat, highlighted the success of local products. He conveyed that sapuk is among the items that successfully entered the lineup of official merchandise for this year’s Mandalika MotoGP.

According to Yeyen, Gekrafs NTB previously signed a cooperation agreement with the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) to supply official MotoGP merchandise.

“This is certainly a good achievement in our view, as our local MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and creative economy actors can now access opportunities to have their products featured in internationally scaled events,” said Yeyen on Thursday, October 1, 2026.

He explained that merchandise typically associated with MotoGP events has generally included T-shirts, polo shirts, shirts, caps, and keychains. However, for the 2026 Mandalika MotoGP, Gekrafs NTB is introducing a product with stronger cultural value, which is the sapuk.

Sapuk is a traditional headband of the Lombok community that serves not only as a fashion accessory but also represents local cultural identity. “For this year, the Gekrafs product that has been included as official merchandise is the sapuk. This is a traditional headband of the Lombok community, and it has been included as official merchandise,” he said.

Yeyen expressed hope that including sapuk as official merchandise would open broader markets for NTB’s creative economy products. This opportunity is particularly significant as the Mandalika MotoGP is an international event attracting spectators from various regions and countries.

He also hopes the sapuk will receive a positive market response during the 2026 Mandalika MotoGP. “The sapuk is now included. We hope it will also receive a good market response during the event,” he said.

According to him, with sapuk’s inclusion as official merchandise, NTB’s local cultural products now have a platform to stand alongside various commercial products at one of the international sporting events held in Mandalika. (Annaila Azzahra-EN)