After a long career in Grand Prix racing, Randy de Puniet decided a few years ago to add a final chapter to his career with endurance racing. A rider for the KM99 team for the past three years, the ELF ambassador is delighted with the recent partnership between Mario Kupper's team and the ELF Marc VDS Racing team.
What does the ELF brand represent in your racing career?
ELF is a name that resonates with all motorsport enthusiasts. It has been an important brand for many years, both in car racing and motorcycling. It is also a brand that helped me in my early days in the French championship and then in the European championship.
I also wore the ELF colours in Grand Prix racing, first in 125cc with the Scrab team, then in MotoGP with Kawasaki and Lucio Cecchinello's LCR team. Then came endurance racing with Gilles Stafler and the SRC team, and now with the ELF Marc VDS KM99 team.
Of all these seasons, which have been the most memorable?
It's difficult to choose because I have so many great memories from all these seasons. In 2007, my second year in MotoGP, I did some great things with the 800 Kawasaki. I got my first podium in Japan, we had a great bike. There were also three great seasons with Lucio, especially 2010... Unfortunately, it ended with a bad injury in Germany when the championship was going pretty well. 2007 and 2010 remain my two best seasons in MotoGP.
You had the opportunity to try a Yamaha 500 during the Sunday Ride Classic at the Paul Ricard circuit. Would you have liked to race in the premier class with these two-stroke machines?
It was the bike Olivier Jacque raced in 2001. Unfortunately, I could only do a few laps because of a technical problem. Having raced in the 125 and 250 categories with this type of engine, I would have loved to race with a 500. The size of these bikes suits me perfectly, I felt comfortable straight away. The power comes on quite brutally, it's pure pleasure. It's light, easy to handle... We all dreamed of the 500 Grand Prix.
You are now 44 years old, why did you decide to extend your career in Endurance?
When I started working as a consultant for Canal+, I was also doing some testing for KTM in MotoGP. It was August 2016, and my phone rang. It was Fabien Foret, a friend of mine who was racing in the EWC for Kawasaki at the time. Gilles Stafler was looking for a rider for the Bol d'Or. I accepted. I enjoyed the race, we finished second, and I decided to continue. It's now 2025 and I'm still here! There will come a time when I'll have to stop, but for now I'm still enjoying it just as much. And as I'm still competitive...
What does the partnership between KM99 and the ELF Marc VDS team bring you this year?
It brings a lot of things, starting with financial support, which means we have better equipment and better support from Yamaha. It also boosts our image, because the ELF Marc VDS Racing team is well known in the world of motor sports. I think that, more generally, it's good for the EWC. The teams are getting stronger, more and more people are taking an interest in the championship... For us, the start of the season hasn't been easy, but the potential is clearly there and I'm convinced that we'll soon be in a position to fight for victory.