“A champion team is the one that beats the team of champions.” The saying is simple. Direct. Bold. Also, full of intent with there being zero B.S. And if you are wondering what that means, then the racing fan may note this to be the philosophy of the famed HRC Gariboldi Racing competing in the excessively challenging world of MotoCross where it has won multiple titles. Multiple titles in FIM Motocross World championship. However, the champion of this team aren’t just the incredible drivers who drive menacingly quick, displaying agility and faultless overtaking manoeuvres; it’s also a very special soul, hugely talented, absolutely fearless and most importantly, a people’s person who champions the events for a unit that needs little or no introduction. After all, it’s HRC aka Honda Racing Team. And that very special person is none other than Milena Kojder.
KyroSports met up with the fast but not furious, quick thinking, supremely fit Honda-devotee based in Poland to understand her world, her journey, how she got into MotoCross and what it took to get into a very critical and specific role, it being the Event Specialist of the celebrated team in the high flying world of MotoCross. And we can tell you, her story is about as beautiful as the charming alleys of Gdansk and captivating much like the charming cosmopolitan vibe of Warsaw.
“In 2012, I started training in motocross. When I signed with a motocross club, I began competing in motocross championships. I also participated in the first women’s race in Poland and kept racing for about five years.
While I was at university, I started working for an event agency, managing projects for freestyle motocross events, super enduro events, downhill races, and many other extreme sports events. I continued in that field, and during one of the races, I met a professional motocross rider. We fell in love, and I was with him for four years.
While we were together, I got an opportunity to work with Honda Racing, which I still do today. I’m no longer in that relationship, but I remain with Honda.”
KS: Your first memories with dirt biking or seeing Motorsport in its prime form on two racing wheels?
MK: My family has nothing to do with Motorsport. One day, my dad took me for a freestyle MotoCross in Poland and I saw all the different bikes, the engines, the smell of petrol and that got into me. From that day, I was telling my dad that I really want to try riding as I was pretty sure right then that there was something in it for me. I kept telling him that it was my passion.
KS: What was your first bike about and how young were you when you got it?
MK: My first MotorCycle was a dirt bike, which I bought when I was 18. But interestingly, even as I competed in several MotoCross events and competitions, back in the day there really wasn’t a specific class for women to compete in. Even then, my exposure, handling, riding and sense of competitiveness was almost in sync with what’s required to be there at the international arena. The passion that was back then, still lingers on. Is very much there!
KS: Polish dirt biking event that you can’t forget, ever?
MK: I even participated in the first-ever proper Polish dirt biking racing event for women in MotoCross. This was after a few years of waiting for the women’s category or class to be announced. I didn’t quit, I kept at it. It was a long time ago but for Poland it was a big thing. I was among 20 girls in a huge, paparazzi-fuelled event in a first-time-ever for my country!
KS: What’s it like to be around a prominent paddock such as Honda Racing Team’s in this sport?
MK: Thanks to my job, one I love endlessly, I have the privilege to take some bikes around to drive around in the paddock, which is also a fun angle to what I do in the my capacity as the Events Champion with one of the most prominent and well-respected MotoCross teams in all of Europe, Latin America, Asia and the USA!
KS: Tell us more about University days and how did they shape the professional in you?
MK: Because when I decided to go to my university to pursue Event Management, which I am today actually applying in my job, I couldn’t pursue or keep up with MotoCross events. But then, in hindsight, it’s also a pretty expensive sport. However, the operational and people management side of things is hugely interesting and I can tell you, you have to use soft skills, the knack of communication to excel, which is both gripping and gratifying.
KS: How did you get drawn to the world of MotoCross in the first place and from where did you begin?
MK: During the initial stages of my career, I was in an Event firm, very much in Poland that was working with competitions in which freestyle MotoCross teams participated. At the same time, there were also events being handled by this agency in the realm of Super Enduro Championships. You could say, these interactions got me even more hooked onto the world of racing, eventually paving the way for me to forge a career that today I can’t imagine life without and am super glad to be in!
KS: Career-wise, your most thrilling moment?
MK: One of the most thrilling moments in my life from the career perspective is when the factory team Honda racing reached out to me with an offer that if I was interested in travelling around the world to manage the hospitality, events and coordination during the team’s MotoCross world championship and I affirmed my passion and love for the series. That was 2021. And here I am. It’s 2025.
KS: Tell us a bit about the whole MotoCross and Honda experience, what is it?
MK: What makes my experience propound and thrilling at the same time is that I am working for- involved with- a proper factory team in MotoCross, which is the highest-possible level a team can reach in the said event or contest.
KS: What fascinates you the most about MotoCross?
MK: I think MotoCross for me is like an action-packed adventure on two wheels with ceaseless thrill. At the beginning, 40 riders compete at the start line, which has besides involving huge danger, also includes crashes and is fraught with danger. Over the years, travelling with the team, interacting within and with the unit’s core specialists has taught me a lot. I am a team person with an understanding of the event handling side of MotoCross that’s got me interacting with one and all. I’ve also forged friendships with our drivers and their understanding of the sport, the depths to which they think and strategise is a classic primer of lifelong knowledge about human mindset required to excel in high-risk, excessively competitive sports such as this!
KS: The best thing about your job in the world of Motocross is?
KS: When you are at the track, you are happy, sad, anxious and learn a lot.
KS: Between Formula 1 and MotoGP what do you like more?
MK: Even when I have a break, I travel to the United States, every winter to see SuperCross races; high octane races that are held on the inside, unlike MotoCross. I’ve got invitations from SuperCross Honda team as well. So yeah, that’ll always be a die hard favourite of mine. But for me, it’s F1, easy!
KS: What sort of geography does MotoCross involve that makes it interesting for fans globally?
Spain, Italy, France, Germany, but then there are also races in Argentina and other parts of South America that keep me, much like the fans, on the toes and travelling and happily so!
KS: Where does the competition begin in Motocross each year?
MK: Argentina is where we typically start with where it comes to the MotoCross World championship. Motocross of the nations, is also something that happens once, each year post the completion of our title fight.
KS: What is the most challenging part of your job?
MK: I would say, there’s a lot to learn from the people! The different guests from different countries, who at times, also have picky requirements… I would say, dealing with different conditions, such as if it’s raining during a race weekend, where my guests may get spoiled during rainy times are the kind of things that seem easy, but often times are anything but.
Quite frankly, from the life and growing career of professionals like Milena Kojder in the competitive world of MotoCross, one learns that the real contest isn’t just the one that’s being raced for at the track, around different circuits and surfaces around the world. And that glory also lies in being the fulcrum of a team around whom expectations of fans linger, with pressure. Which is why the larger victory rests for the fans and admirers of fascinating events like MotoCross, if it were not for event champions like Milena Kojder, the fans, who truly define the sport after all, would not get the pulsating action they expect out of racing!
