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FIM Intercontinental Games, FIM News

OFFICIAL PRESENTATION FOR FIM INTERCONTINENTAL GAMES HELD AT CIRCUITO DE JEREZ – ÁNGEL NIETO

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The Official Presentation for the inaugural FIM Intercontinental Games was held at the Gran Premio Estrella Galicia 0,0 de España, on Saturday (27 April) at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto in Andalusia, Spain.

A biennial event which will be named after the city in which it takes place, the FIM Intercontinental Games Jerez 2024 will play a major role in the FIM’s one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary celebrations this year and be staged at the iconic Spanish circuit on 30 November and 1 December.

Among those attending the Official Presentation were FIM President Jorge Viegas, Antonio Sanz (Consejero de Presidencia de la Junta de Andalucía), Mayor of Jerez de la Frontera Maria José Garcia-Pelayo Jurado, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and Lin Jarvis (Managing Director at Yamaha Motor Racing S.r.l).

First proposed to the FIM Board of Directors by FIM President Jorge Viegas, the FIM Intercontinental Games will bring together the six FIM Continental Unions (CONU) of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and Oceania, providing an outstanding international platform for young and experienced riders.

The inaugural FIM Intercontinental Continental Games will be dedicated to circuit racing- Supersport and Supersport 300 classes – although this will expand to include other disciplines (Motocross and Enduro) as the event becomes established – with Yamaha Europe providing R7 and R3 machines as the Official Partner. All motorcycles will have bespoke CONU colour liveries.

Dunlop will be the official tyre supplier and will also provide its racing service throughout the competition, while BETA UTENSILI will support the FIM Continental Unions with their professional mechanical tools and toolboxes.

Riders will wear their CONU team colours with electronic airbag suits and gloves supplied by SPIDI boots by Xpd, while Airoh will provide all riders with their FIM Racing homologated GP 800 helmets and Panta Racing Fuel as the official supplier of fuel.

This new competition will benefit from exceptional TV coverage thanks to the support of the FIM circuit racing promoters Dorna who will carry out the TV production and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe which will ensure broadcasting on their digital platforms.

Each Continental Union will select four riders including at least one woman per class who may come from the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship. Each team will be able to select another rider participating in an FIM World Championship who will be nominated as team captain.

In 2024, the competition will take place over four races, two per class: R7 and R3. The points awarded to each rider based on their ranking will be added to the points of the other team members to determine which of the six FIM Continental Unions will be the first to win the Games.

FIM President Jorge Viegas stated: “In this, the FIM’s one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary year, it is incredibly exciting to be launching the FIM Intercontinental Games that will bring together all six FIM Continental Unions. It is a landmark competition that I have been keen to see happen since I first proposed it twenty-two years ago and I am delighted that we will finally see the first edition come to life later this year. I would like to especially thank Yamaha Europe, the city of Jerez, Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Dorna, WBD Sports Europe, Dunlop, SPIDI, Xpd, Airoh, Beta, Panta and everyone involved in making this incredible event possible.”

Mayor of Jerez de la Frontera Maria José Garcia-Pelayo Jurado: “The FIM Intercontinental Games are a great opportunity for the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto. We will be the first circuit to host this event in which all six FIM Continental Unions will participate. This event further fills the circuit’s packed schedule, at a very important time towards the end of the year. The FIM Intercontinental Games will take place just 7 days before the Circuito Jerez-Ángel Nieto celebrates its 99th anniversary and will be the gateway to the 40th anniversary of the Jerez circuit which we will commemorate precisely in 2025.”

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta: “We’re very happy to be part of this new project and partner the first ever Intercontinental Games. It’s testament to the sport’s history and its future that, even as the FIM celebrates 120 years, there is still room to build a new part of its legacy. We look forward to seeing the first event here at Jerez, an iconic venue, and congratulate the FIM on the project and this incredible milestone.”

Managing Director at Yamaha Motor Racing S.r.l, Lin Jarvis concluded: “First of all, I would like to congratulate the FIM on their one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary – an impressive milestone. Yamaha and the FIM share a close working relationship. Over the years, motorcycle sports across all disciplines have grown and prospered under the FIM’s guidance: health & safety, technical innovation, inclusivity, and the rise in popularity of motorcycle racing are just a few areas that are consistently being worked on.

The launch of the FIM Intercontinental Games shows how the powered-two-wheelers motorsport sector keeps developing to provide new opportunities to all competitors to strive for success and reach new levels, while providing entertaining racing for the fans.

The FIM Intercontinental Games format is exciting in many aspects: the inclusion of women, the opportunity to discover upcoming racing talent, the novelty of various bikes and racing disciplines in one championship, and the necessity of teamwork for teams to get ahead.

Yamaha is proud to support the FIM right from the start in this endeavour by providing R7 and R3 bikes to help the FIM build a fresh and thrilling racing series.”

Official Presentation for FIM Intercontinental Games at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto © PSP

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FIM News

IMMERSIVE FILM CELEBRATES ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY YEARS OF THE FIM

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Presented by Swiss actress and model Lauriane Gilliéron who wears period-appropriate clothes in each of the six scenes, ‘FIM 120 Years’ was premiered at the weekend’s 2024 FIM Commissions Conference in Lyon, France, to rapturous audience applause. Illustrated with superb period photographs and rare vintage video, in just over eight minutes it documents one-hundred-and-twenty years of progress, achievements and passion.

Scene one: “Paris 1904, that’s where it all began…”
The story begins on 21 December 1904 in the Ledoyen restaurant in Paris. Following a race called the Coupe Internationale de Dourdan in the south of Paris three months earlier when racing conditions and technical regulations caused problems with interpretation, the managers of the participating clubs from Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium and Great Britain met and formed an international body to establish clear rules.

The result of this meeting was the formation of the FIM although, initially, it was called the Fédération Internationale des Clubs de Motocyclistes (FICM) until 1949.

Scene two: “We launched a movement, we started a family, we paved the way…”
Fast-forward to London in 1912 where the then ten member countries came together, marking the beginning of a new chapter that ran for twenty-seven years and saw membership grow to thirty National Federations. During this period a number of momentous occasions occurred and the time-travelling Gilliéron takes the viewer through several of these, including the first-ever International Six Days Trial – later to become the International Six Days of Enduro as we know it today – and the 1936 Speedway World Final at Wembley Stadium, the first official FICM World Championship which was won by Australia’s Lionel van Praag.

Scene three: “At the end of the war, we set off again…”
With peace restored following the Second World War, the FIM continued its mission with the first major landmark the inaugural Motocross of Nations in 1947, staged in the Netherlands and contested by teams from the home nation along with Great Britain and Belgium. Just two years later this was followed by the first-ever FIM Circuit Racing World Championship Grand Prix and the Internationale des Clubs de Motocyclistes became the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).

Scene four: “So many milestones…”
Documenting a period of intense change and development in motorcycle sport, Gilliéron details the evolution of FIM World Championships starting with Motocross in 1957 and continuing chronologically with Ice Speedway, Trial, Endurance Racing, Superbikes, Enduro and Rally-Raid.

Following the creation of the first Continental Union with Latin America in 1975, the FIM had grown to fifty-one member countries by 1980 and this figure was continuing to increase.

Scene five: “Respect for the environment and social inclusion…”
The FIM is committed to finding safer and sustainable solutions for motorcyclists from all walks of life by investing in advancements in subjects including fuel, tyres, personal safety equipment, sound reduction, electric power and event organisation. It was the first International Federation to implement an Environmental Code and has a very strict Anti-Doping Code and works tirelessly to promote inclusivity for female motorcyclists through the FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission.

Scene six: “Together, we’ve come a long way. Together, we’ll go even further…”
The only governing body for motorcycle sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee, today the FIM Family oversees more than fifteen-hundred events every year and numbers one-hundred-and-twenty National Federations and six Continental Unions, all joined together by a shared passion and united by the single goal to advance motorcycling globally.

Jorge Viegas, FIM President, said: “This is a fantastic film that does a brilliant job of detailing the one-hundred-and-twenty years of history of the FIM. From a restaurant in Paris in 1904 with just six countries all the way through to the present day with new headquarters being constructed in Switzerland, one-hundred-and-twenty National Federations and six Continental Unions – we have certainly come a long way.

“On behalf of the FIM I would like to thank everyone involved in the making of this film and, of course, everyone who has played their part in our continued success over the last one-hundred-and-twenty years.”

Marking its one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary in 2024, the FIM is proud to release a unique film documenting its twelve decades in existence and its ground-breaking advances in the world of motorcycling that extend far beyond competition into areas as diverse as safety, technology, the environment, sustainability and inclusivity.

FIM News

WATCH 2023 FIM AWARDS – FREE ON FIM-MOTO.TV

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Watch live and for free on FIM-MOTO.TV from 22.00hrs UK / 23.00hrs CET – Saturday 2nd December.

For those who are unable to join the forty-five attending 2023 FIM World Champions in person, as the FIM Awards are hosted for the first time ever in Great Britain this coming Saturday evening 2nd December, you will have the opportunity to watch the entire medal ceremony live and for free on FIM-MOTO.TV

Be part of this unique and special occasion from the comfort of your own home as motorcycling’s finest heroes and heroines take to the stage at the impressive riverside venue in the famous city of Liverpool to collect their hard earned and well-deserved gold medals.

With seven hundred guests – which will include the attending 2023 FIM World Champions, FIM Promoters, FIM Partners, National Federations, FIM Board Members and representatives from the wider global motorcycle community / industry – set to tread the red carpet ahead of the main ceremony, you too can feel part of this incredible and season ending celebration of two-wheel sport.

Watch the 2023 FIM Awards here

FIM News, Women in Motorcycling

INAUGURAL FIM WOMEN’S MOTORCYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SET TO KICK OFF IN 2024

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The excitement is building for the inaugural FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship, slated to commence in 2024. This ground-breaking event promises to be a thrilling addition to the world of motorcycling, featuring women riders competing on a global stage.

Key details about the new series were revealed in a press conference held during the Prometeon Spanish Round at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto with FIM President Jorge Viegas, FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission Director Janika Judeika, WorldSBK Executive Director Gregorio Lavilla and Yamaha Motor Europe President and CEO Eric de Seynes. Also in attendance was 2023 Women’s European Champion Beatriz Neila, who shared her views on the opportunities offered by the new competition.

The 2024 FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship will comprise six Rounds and one pre-season test, all integrated within the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.

  1. Emilia Romagna Round, Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” – June 14th-16th
  2. UK Round, Donington Park Circuit – July 12th-14th
  3. Portuguese Round, Autodromo Internacional do Algarve – August 9th-11th
  4. Hungarian Round, Balaton Park Circuit – August 23rd-25th
  5. Italian Round, Cremona Circuit – September 20th-22nd
  6. Spanish Round, Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto – October 11th-13th

During each Round, the action will unfold as follows: Superpoles on Friday, Race 1 on Saturday, and Race 2 on Sunday, offering fans a full weekend of adrenaline-pumping racing.

Yamaha, with their Yamaha YZF-R7 model, will serve as the single manufacturer for the Championship. Additionally, a single technical and logistic partner will oversee all technical aspects, ensuring a level playing field for all riders.

Prospective riders can apply during the pre-application process, which runs from November 13th, 2023, to January 31st, 2024. Confirmation of participation from DWO is expected no later than February 15th, 2024.

Riders must be a minimum of 18 years old and can opt to race under a team name, adding a personalised touch to the Championship.

The entry fee for permanent riders is set at €25,000, including a comprehensive package, such as the use of Yamaha YZF R7 MY 2023, a GYTR Racing Kit, Pirelli tyres, fuel, racing service and access to the Paddock Village.

Amongst the benefits of running under the umbrella of WorldSBK, the new series will enjoy global broadcast coverage, Pirelli prize money and PR opportunities ensuring the rider sponsors’ visibility on a global scale.

The FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship promises to be an electrifying addition to the world of motorsport, showcasing the immense talent and dedication of women in the field. Stay tuned for the thrilling action set to unfold in 2024!

Jorge Viegas | FIM President: “In the FIM, we have been working very hard to include more and more women in racing in the last 20 years, since we created the Women Commission. We already have Women’s Championships in Motocross, Enduro, and Trial, and we are going to have Speedway very soon. When we started to think about a Circuit Racing Championship, Dorna embraced this project and we’ve been working together since April, and I think Gregorio (Lavilla) did a very good job. There is a lot of demand from women to join this Championship. There will be women coming from Japan, from the United States, from Latin America, and from Europe, of course. I think it will be a big success.”

Gregorio Lavilla | WorldSBK Executive Director: “When we started with this project, we thought about many types of formats, many conditions, and we ended up with a solution that we think is feasible. This is a growing project that will develop depending on the feedback from the spectators, from the riders, from manufacturers. Since 2020, we started doing two races in all our categories, and this Championship will have the same format, qualifying, and two races. The schedule of next year’s weekends is going to be tight because we will have a lot of races. But I think that’s good for the motorcycling fans. I would also like to mention all the partners, like Yamaha, who had a positive response when we knocked on their doors. Today is a great day to start a new project.”

Janika Judeika | FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission Director: “Today is a special day as we present the first-ever FIM World Championship for Women in Circuit Racing. The FIM launched a project dedicated to women in Circuit Racing ten years ago with the first-ever training camp on the circuit in Albacete, Spain. Four other camps then followed between 2013 and 2015 in the Czech Republic and Qatar with an average number of twenty-four participants from four continents and twelve countries. In 2014, as part of this project and thanks to the support of Midori Moriwaki, an all-female team took part in the Suzuka 4 Hours that included Shelina Moreda and Melissa Paris also in 2015 with Shelina and Avalon Biddle. Already at that time, it was clear that there were fast women who were also clamoring to have their own championship. I am pretty sure that among the women who will now participate in this new FIM World Championship will be some of those who have previously participated in the FIM circuit racing training camps where the aim was to bring together fast women and to understand when the time would be right to create their own championship. This is now a reality!”

Eric de Seynes | President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Europe: “Yamaha likes to win, but Yamaha also wants to support the sport from all different aspects, and we think that as a manufacturer, we have to take our responsibility. We cannot be proud to win, supervise, and ignore all the rest of the pyramid. If we want to be champions, we have to take care of the young champions of all the different classes and help them progress year after year. Also, in motocross, we have always supported the women riders in the Women Championships. We have won many times, and when this idea was raised, we were absolutely motivated to support it because you have to understand that in many cases, there is a difficulty for the riders coming from national championships to get the label at the World Championship level. And it’s exactly the same for women. 30% of our customers are women, and they want to race. With this Championship, we will give the correct step for women to demonstrate their talent.”

Beatriz Neila | 2023 Women’s European Champion: “In my opinion, there has always been women competing against men. But it’s true that in that period of time, no one has reached the top of the category, MotoGP or Superbike. Why? It’s like this because women and men are different, are physically different. And for that the present of this Championship allows women to fight for a world title, to have the ranking, to see who is the fastest woman in the world, season by season, to be recognised, to take advantage of our status as a woman in the world of motorbikes, and to show the world what women can do on a bike. All of this can be achieved by creating a women’s World Championship in which we can compete women against women. It is a reference for a new generation, and I know that this Championship will be really interesting and a new opportunity for women. And today is the start of something amazing.”

Published by: Isabelle Larivière – FIM Communications Manager

Picture Caption: L-R: Beatriz Neila (2023 Women’s European Champion), Gregorio Lavilla (WorldSBK Executive Director), Jorge Viegas (FIM President), Janika Judeika (FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission Director), Eric de Seynes (President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Europe). © Dorna WorldSBK

FIM News

FIM ISDE ARGENTINA 2023 CONTINUES ITS PREPARATIONS

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The 97th edition of the FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE) continues its set-up and will take place as scheduled from 6 to 11 November in the province of San Juan, Argentina.

Already with more than 300 riders contesting Club Team Awards (CTAs) with a strong participation of South American competitors, and also expecting a large number of national teams, this legendary annual team competition will visit the country for the second time in its history, after its first and successful time in 2014.

The FIM ISDE Argentina 2023 promises to be an unforgettable experience for both riders and enduro fans. The organising committee continues working diligently to finalise details. Only four months away from the competition, David Eli, Director of +Eventos and local organiser of the FIM ISDE 2023, commented on this great upcoming event: “We are very excited to organise the Six Days again in our country. San Juan has a great variety of terrains that will allow for a formidable competition. And although it is true that in the last few hours the Secretary of Sports of San Juan, Jorge Chica, informed me that the governmental support of the province will be restricted, we can still carry out the event thanks to the support of our sponsors and our business structure that allows us to give guarantees in this sense. So I look forward to welcoming all the teams coming to our country soon”.

The countdown to the return of the FIM International Six Days of Enduro 2023 to South America after five years has already begun. With planning underway, the local organiser is looking forward to welcoming riders and teams from around the world with the opening of the paddock at the Villicum Circuit in San Juan scheduled for 31 October and the inaugural parade of nations to be held on Saturday, 4 November this year.COISDE Communication

Full event details can be found at www.fim-isde.com