The six best Motul motorsport moments of 2020

There’s no doubt that the world of motorsport was rocked by the pandemic this year. Events were cancelled and postponed, but the world of motorsport got together and proved it could keep racing despite this. These are our favourite Motul motorsport moments of the year.

Without a doubt, the ЗИМKHANA event at Forward Auto, in Krasnoyarsk, in February. Seeing fully prepared Ladas driving around a snow-white replica of Ebisu’s North Course, which also happens to be the entrance to Gocha Chivchyan’s shop, shows how far you can bring an idea if you stick to it. More than the event itself, the hospitality shown by the hosts, as well as the extremely well-prepared vehicles and tough battles, made this event something I’ll never forget. As well as the -30-degree weather the next day when the event organizers invited us to cross a frozen lake on airboats.

The 24 Hours of Daytona. I went to three weeks of the Dakar, came back home for two days and took a plane again to Daytona to announce the brand new deal with BMW. We signed the contract on Thursday and won the race on Sunday!

We missed a lot of cancelled events due to Covid19, and those which were allowed were very selective in their media admissions. So basically, it turned out I couldn’t attend any event in real life this year, much to my regret. The one fact that struck me the most, though, was the return of Suzuki to the top of the MotoGP podium, and its victory in the World Endurance Race. Suzuki as a brand was always modest in its positioning on the market and in the racing field, but I like the way the technological collaboration with Motul and the constant perseverance of always striving to do better on both sides has led to these long-awaited and deserved victories on Suzuki’s 100th birthday.

My favourite event was my trip to the Dyatlov Pass on Urals with the factory team of the IMZ plant. It was totally different from what I experienced before as I was part of journey that was so hard and intense. During that road trip, I understood what our products bring to the end consumer. When they are in the middle of nowhere fighting with mother nature on their powersport vehicles, Motul is there for them. 

This year was motorsport-less for me as I couldn’t travel due to so many cancelled events. My favourite motorsport moment was probably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for two reasons: First, because there was a race despite the circumstances. The whole paddock showed resilience and found a way to deliver a truly great Le Mans race, and did it in a safe and professional way. Secondly, our continued support of United Autosport, which won LMP2.

Without doubt the most emotional moment was when Joan Mir crossed the finish line on a sunny Valencian Sunday. Even if I wasn't physically present at the circuit - after so many years of continuous travel - it was as if I was there. The emotion was skyrocketing to see those silver and blue colours shining from the highest peak of the whole motorcycling world. As he crossed the finish line, I couldn’t help but think of the people involved both on the team side but also on the Motul side. And also of Suzuki's 100 years of life (as well as 60 years of participation in the top category of motorcycling). Joan has been a talented rider for his age (23 years), and we’ve collaborated with the team for 20 years. All these thoughts and emotions were concentrated in just a few laps.