2020 MotoGP World Championship

The season was notably characterized by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of perennial title favourite and defending champion Marc Márquez due to a serious arm injury, the high number of wins from different riders, teams and constructors, and the Yamaha engine controversy.

After an opening round crash resulting in a fractured humerus,[2] and an aborted return attempt the following week,[3] Márquez sat out the remainder of the season, meaning he could not win the title for a fifth consecutive time.

[4] Former premier class world champion Valentino Rossi had a career-low season, finishing the championship outside of the top 7 for the first time in his career, ending 15th.

[1] Ducati took the constructors' championship in the final round in Portugal, helped by the 50-point penalty handed to Yamaha earlier in the season.

Riders Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir won their first premier class victories during the season and KTM took their first wins as a constructor.

On 31 July, the FIM announced that the remaining flyaway races were to be cancelled, marking the first time since 1986 that the premier class was held entirely within Europe.

Before the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Yamaha and its teams were handed penalties for disregarding the protocol which requires obtaining unanimous approval from the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association (MSMA) for engine technical changes.