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2016 FIM General Assembly meets in Berlin

The 2016 FIM General Assembly took place on Saturday 26 November 2016 in the vibrant metropolis of Berlin.

The FIM received a warm welcome from Berlin State Secretary Bernd Krömer, speaking on behalf of the City Authorities, and Mr Hans-Robert Kreutz, Vice President of the German Motorcycling Federation (DMSB).

In his opening address to the FIM General Assembly, FIM President Vito Ippolito highlighted the need to continue to pursue excellence and unity through consultation and education in order to ensure that the FIM continued to progress in the short and medium term in accordance with its Strategic Plan. Further reflections on the role and functioning of the Continental Unions will be held with the aim of harmonising the various structures. Expertise and know-how are major assets and the FIM will ensure the quality of future FIM Commissions with the implementation of new criteria and training.

The FIM General Assembly approved the 2015 Financial Statements, discharged the Board of Directors and approved the reports of the Directors of the FIM Administration and the 2017 FIM Budget.

The FMSM (Fédération Mauritanienne des Sports Mécaniques) of Mauritania addressed the Assembly and was accepted by the General Assembly as a new FIM affiliated Federation from 1 January 2017.

The representatives of FIM National Federations & Continental Unions celebrating their 10th (Montenegro, Iceland, Palestine, Saudi Arabia), 20th (Paraguay, Puerto Rico, FIM Europe), 50th (Bolivia), 70th (Bosnia Herzegovina, Canada, Monaco), 80th (Mexico), 100th (New Zealand, Norway), 110th (Indonesia, Hungary) and 120th (Austria) anniversaries were called on stage to receive a commemorative plaque.

Two amendments to the FIM Statutes and the FIM By-laws were accepted by the General Assembly. The FIM General Assembly agreed to include in all FIM Codes and Regulations a clause indicating that references to male persons include female persons except where the context requires otherwise.

Also, the International Environment Commission has been renamed International Sustainability Commission in order to reflect its work more accurately.

A number of amendments to the FIM Sporting Code were also accepted by the FIM General Assembly. In particular, an amendment to the FIM Sporting Code put forward by the Philippines Federation (NAMSSA) and the FIM Motocross Commission was accepted to allow the staging of several FIM events, including an FIM 65cc Motocross Cup, open to young riders over the age of 10 years old. The decision was informed by an in-depth study conducted by a Working Group set up by FIM Europe. In-depth work on the FIM Sporting Code will continue in 2017.

Five candidates (Mssrs Josep Abad (Spain), Jorgen Bitsch (Denmark), Jos Driessen (Belgium), Stylianos Korelis (Greece), Jorge Viegas (Portugal) were up for election for the three vacant FIM Board of Directors Member positions. After a last minute withdrawal of the Spanish candidate, Mssrs, Jos Driessen (50 votes) Jorgen Bitsch (48 votes) and Jorge Viegas (38 votes) were elected to the FIM Board of Directors for a four-year term.

Mr Ernesto Russo was confirmed member of the FIM International Commission of Judges.

Honorary memberships were awarded to Mr Bambang Gunardi (Honorary CCR Member), Mr Wolfgang Srb (Honorary CMS Director), Mr Anders Minken (Honorary CTR Member), Mr Roy Otto (Honorary CCP President). A special recognition was given to Mr Dave Nicoll for his service to the CMS.

Mr Verneda continued by saying: “Our FIM staff will be proud to wear their new Dainese clothing throughout our fifty FIM World Championships that extend to more than two hundred and twenty events each year, providing our new partner with unrivalled visibility both in front of our huge live audiences and the many millions of TV fans that follow our sport.”

Fabio Muner, Dainese and AGV Communication and Marketing Manager added: “It is with great passion that Dainese announces a new and strong partnership with the FIM. Dainese has always been committed to developing protective systems for riders, since it started more than forty-three years ago with Mr. Dainese and the company’s participation in motorcycle racing, more specifically in the FIM World Championship.”

Mr Muner went on to say: “Dainese provided the first protective products to Toni Mang and immediately afterwards Giacomo Agostini, right up to today’s high safety standards with Valentino Rossi, Pol Espargaro, Andrea Iannone, Nicky Hayden, Stefan Bradl, Jack Miller and many others. Even today MotoGP, and the other FIM World Championships are considered by Dainese as the best testing ground for developing the highest level of protection, which then reach the market and everyday motorcyclists.”

Confirming the importance of the agreement between the two parties Fabio Muner ended by stating: “Finally, traditional protection systems are important, but also for many years Dainese has been developing the electronic security systems, such as the air-bag Dainese D-air. The D-air has been on the market, in both racing and street versions, from 2011. This confirms that even today for Dainese, the track, and its heroes are not just a communication channel, but also a proving ground to confirm our technological leadership in racing and on the market. We thank the FIM for this agreement that will allow Dainese and the Federation to pursue a single common goal: to protect the riders and make our sport more and more safe.”