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, sustainability and inclusivity.
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.
Watch «FIM 120 years of Motorcycling» HERE
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 Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix and the Fédération 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.
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.”
FIM Communications