COVID-19 forced Malaysian motorsports to fight for survival this year, but not all is doom and gloom.
There were widespread fears at the start of the pandemic - that the local motorsports industry would collapse as races could not go on due to MCO and CMCO restrictions.
As local organisers and teams depend heavily on private sponsors, the absences of races meant that they could not fulfil their obligations.
The majority of those involved in the local motorsports industry, which is estimated to be more than 3,000 people, are paid on a race-by-race basis.
Several riders and drivers, including rally great Karamjit Singh, had to take up e-hailing and e-delivery jobs to survive. The National Security Council (NSC), the Health Ministry and the Sports Ministry, in recognising the gravity of the situation, allowed racing to resume under strict standard operating procedures (SOP) in July.
Racing, however, was stopped again in October due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases but resumed earlier this month after the situation improved.
Motorsports Association of Malaysia president Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir hopes the government will view the motorsports industry as being just as important as the local football industry.
"It was a unique season. We were thrown upside down by Covid-19, and nothing could be implemented with success or certainty," said Mokhzani.
"I understand the frustration and anger of many sectors of the community. The business of motorsports, like every other business, was severely impacted by the pandemic.
"Our hope is for the government to allow motorsports the same status as football since we operate in large open spaces with good crowd control and access to all working areas."
Mokhzani added that MAM will continue to push for races in the hope of creating an active calendar of events for next season.
On the world stage, the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) continued their stunning rise in MotoGP, going from zero race wins last year to six this year through Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.
Quartararo will move to the Monster Energy Yamaha factory team next year and taking his place at SRT is MotoGP great Valentino Rossi. The latter's experience and huge following will, no doubt, help the team grow in terms of overall performance and promotional power.
SRT, however, must look at accelerating the development of Malaysian talent (riders and technical crew) within the team.
SRT and their Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto2 and Moto3 teams already have several Malaysians in their management ranks.
Signing at least one Malaysian rider for next year should be made a priority.
Their decision to drop Khairul Idham Pawi from the Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto3 team for next year caused an uproar among Malaysian fans as it left them without a single Malaysian rider in their MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 squads.
Khairul is taking an indefinite break from racing. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin will also not be racing in the World Championships next year. Despite having two years left on his contract, he has parted ways with Moto2 team SAG as they have taken a new sponsor for next season.
Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (NTS RW Racing GP) will be the sole Malaysian rider in the World Championships next season. Malaysian fans will certainly love to see Hafizh in Petronas colours in 2022, be it in MotoGP or Moto2.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, as expected, clinched their seventh straight drivers and constructors' titles this year, further cementing their reputation as one of the greatest teams in history.
While certain quarters have questioned Petronas' investments in motorsports, most notably in Formula One, the returns in brand visibility have been greatly rewarding.
This is an ideal road for Petronas to take as they look to build a strong racing heritage in the mould of Mobil, Shell, Total (Elf) and Agip, the fuel and lubricant brands that have been in world-class motorsports.
Barring any major spikes in Covid-19 cases next year, we can expect a full local calendar and possibly the return of some international races in the final quarter.
However, question marks will continue to hover over the road ahead for Malaysian motorsports due to the coronavirus.