Picture 1: FIM HQ From left: Marco COMANA (FIM Africa President); Pedro VENTURO Jr (FIM Latin America President); Ignacio VERNEDA (Deputy President); Jorge VIEGAS (FIM President); Françoise EMERY (FIM CEO); Jacques BOLLE (Vice-President); Damiano ZAMANA (Deputy CEO & Operations Director); Håkan LEEMAN (Board Member); Giovanni COPIOLI (Board Member); Martin DE GRAAFF (FIM Europe President) © FIM
Picture 2. Zoom screen from top left: Jan STOVICEK (Board Member); Robert DINGMAN (FIM North America President); Stephan CARAPIET (FIM Asia President); Peter DOYLE (FIM Oceania President); Abdulrahmann AL MANNAI (Board Member).
The FIM Board of Directors met at the FIM HQ in Mies (Switzerland) and via videoconference on 8 and 9 September 2021. On this occasion, the Board addressed many topics, in particular the following:
COVID-19 pandemic: Thanks to the strong commitment of the FIM Family and stakeholders, all World Championships/Cups and Prizes could be held with only minor cancellations or changes in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2021 sporting and non-sporting calendars.
Sport: All disciplines were discussed with a focus on the Supercross World Championship for which a tender for the promotion of this championship will soon be launched for the upcoming years. The status of the MiniGP World Series was addressed as well as the E-bikes, E-Motorcycles and E-Xplorer. Discussions related to the level of sound emissions took place. The Board decided to fix the new sound limit to 109dB/A with a margin of tolerance of +1dB/A (sound measuring method) for factory off-road motorcycles for 2023 and for production series off-road motorcycles for 2024. The e-sport Working Group presented its report to the Board.
Finance: The Board approved a draft 2022 budget as well as changes in calendar and licence fees which will be presented to the General Assembly for approval. The 2022 direct payments were also agreed.
Insurances: The status of the 2022-2024 international riders’ insurance programme was presented and the volunteers’ insurance project was introduced to the Board.
Public Affairs: The Board was informed of the status of the revision of the EU Motor Insurance Directive (Vnuk case). The Motorsport shall be the only sector specifically exempted from the scope of the directive. National Federations are encouraged to lobby at national level to ensure a proper integration of the exemption in the respective national legislations. After a tender process, FIPRA was retained as the new FIM’s EU public affairs consultant as of 2022.
Sustainability: The sustainability strategy developed by the International Sustainably Commission, together with external experts was presented to the Board. Discussions about alternatives energies such as electricity, eco-fuel or green-hydrogen were held.
Platforms and digitalisation: The platform listing the riders serving a period of ineligibility is ready to be implemented. It will centralise all information related to ineligibility of riders. The information on the platform will be provided by the riders’ FMNs. This tool will allow all FMNs to check the status of a rider before issuing a licence. The medical data platform (accidentology and riders’ status), aiming to provide a unique reference point for the FIM Medical Director and all FIM Chief Medical Officers, is currently being developed. This platform will allow to track the health status of the riders and to monitor the frequency and type of accident and related medical consequences in each case. The Working Group on digitalisation presented its first report to the Board. Its initial tasks included an assessment of the current state of play regarding digitalisation within the FIM and among the FMNs.
Education and training: Webinars with the participation of the FMNs were maintained with a satisfactory attendance rate. A training aimed at FMN Secretaries General on “Resilience – how managers can manage during a crisis?” will be organised mid-October by FIM Europe with the cooperation of the FIM in Rome (Italy).
Marketing and Digital: An in-depth analysis of the marketing and digital contents of the FIM International Six Days’ Enduro was presented to the Board. The coverage on various platforms such as the website, social media, among others, was also addressed for this event for which the FIM is acting as promoter.
Communication: The FIM Hospitality will be present on 10 events on various disciplines during the 2021 season. It is the FIM official venue to host media, partners, stakeholders, meetings, officials at major racing events.
General Assembly and FIM Awards: The Board decided to hold the 2021 General Assembly and 2020-2021 FIM Awards in Monaco. Mandate was given to the Executive Board to decide on the 2022 General Assembly and 2022 FIM Awards venue. The 2022 Commissions Conference will take place in February in Divonne les Bains (France).
Amendments to Codes and Regulations: The Board approved amendments to the Statues and By Laws as well as the Sporting Code that will be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. Several amendments to the Financial Regulations and Medical Code were also approved by the Board.
Awards & Recognition: The Board awarded the following honorary memberships and title of Member of Honour, subject to the approval of the General Assembly:
• Andrzej Witkowski (PZM), Honorary Vice President
• Wojcieh Grodzki (PZM), Honorary CCP Member (posthumously)
• Johan Pieter Ribbink (KNMV), Honorary CMS Member (posthumously)
• Charly Demathieu (FMB), Member of Honour
Commissions: The following appointment was approved by the Board:
• CTI – Expert, Giuseppe Esposito Corcione
In addition, the CONU Presidents, the Board Committees, the Working Groups and the departments of the Administration presented progress reports on their respective projects.
FIM Communications