NOVEMBER 6, 1995
Indonesian promise
WATCH out for the name Hutomo Mandala Putra.
Hutomo MP recently signed an agreement with South Korea's Kia Motor Corporation to build a $400 million factory at Cikampek, 45 miles south-east of Jakarta, to build an "Indonesian Car." The plan being to produce 50,000 cars a year.
Last week he bought a controlling interest in the Italian car-making firm Lamborghini through a company called V'Power, which he registered recently in the Bahamas.
A little investigation reveals that Hutomo MP is also planning to become a major motor sports figure as well in the years ahead. In the motor racing world he is known as "Tommy Suharto" and has been a regular touring car competitor in Indonesia and has also raced in Australia. He currently runs the Humpuss Racing Indonesia team and this weekend he will be in Adelaide overseeing teenage prot?g? Roy Haryanto in the Formula Brabham event supporting the Australian GP.
Haryanto finished second in the World Junior Karting Championships and has raced karts in Europe. He is being engineered at Humpuss by former British Vauxhall Lotus Champion Piers Hunnisett.
In addition to all of this, Suharto is chairman of Ikatan Motor Indonesia - the country's national sporting authority and part-owner of the Sentul racing circuit where a Grand Prix is being planned in 1996.
Our sources tell us that in the long-term Suharto is planning to have his own Humpuss F1 team with Haryanto as one of the drivers. His acquisition of Lamborghini, which was involved in F1 between 1989 and 1993, is therefore an interesting move...