2023 FIM Europe Congress
Day 2
First meeting for the Management Council.
Mid-season summit for the Sporting and Beyond Sporting Commissions.
Second day of meetings for the FIM Europe family in Zaragoza, Spain.
After yesterday’s Sporting and Beyond Sporting Councils meetings with the point on the current activities and the upcoming events, this morning the Management Council met in the presence of FIM President Mr Jorge Viegas and FIM General Secretary Mrs Françoise Emery.
Michal Sikora, FIM Europe President
“Second day of FIM Europe Congress went very smoothly. For the Management Council it was a day of preparation for the General Assembly and approval of the reports. Commissions had a full agenda with interesting discussions. Also, the General Secretaries meeting was full of interesting ideas and presentations”.
In the meanwhile, the ten Sporting Commissions, the three Beyond Sporting Commissions and the two Panels gathered with regard to the current and next season.
Road Racing Commission
The Commission discussed about the current season, analysing the situation of the Championships.
Martin Hejduk – Chairman Road Racing Commission
“Glad to have had a nice meeting with the special presence of several guests from FIM. We are in the middle of the season and European Championships are racing all the scheduled competitions. Forecast for autumn meeting is the implementation of the rules according to the new safety standards”.
Drag Racing Commission
In the meeting a number of changes were amended which impact will be reflected upon and finalized at the November meeting in Rome.
Job Heezen – Chairman Drag Racing Commission
“Today we had a loaded agenda on issues that need to be discussed. All of them are positive points related to the fact that the wheels in our section are turning in the right direction again”.
Motocross & Snowcross Commission
In a very friendly atmosphere, the Commission faced an agenda full of points.
Andrea Barbieri – Chairman Motocross & Snowcross Commission
“Today we discussed a full agenda with some very important points. Like the changes of some rules to be in line with the FIM ones, the redistribution of the EMX 65-85 races in the 4 zones, the return of the Supercross in Milan with the occasion of EICMA at the end of November”.
Supermoto Commission
A brief report on the activities of the first half of the season was made, pointing out the positive development of the Junior and S4 Championships.
Ivo Tsvetanov – Chairman Supermoto Commission
“The Supermoto Commission had a positive meeting which ended with some minor modifications on the current rules, based on the experience from the season up to now”.
Enduro & Rally Commission
The Commission had the chance to discuss with the Enduro promoter, Maxim, and TT Rally promoter, Mr Meletis, about the current season and the plans for the future. The members also talked about Baja, Cross Country, Hard Enduro and Superenduro.
Robert Svensson – Chairman Enduro & Rally Commission
“It’s always nice and interesting to meet such knowledgeable and interested people as our Commission is composed of. We had long and rewarding discussions about this season and the future of our sport”.
Track Racing Commission
This year the Track Racing Commission is working in a new format, creating working groups that are in contact during the whole season. A draft of the calendar 2024 was presented and there are still a few spots left what will be discuss with FMN´s within the next weeks.
Piotr Szymanski – Chairman Track Racing Commission
“Many topics had been worked through via Zoom before the meeting in Zaragoza already. Today we had the chance to discuss about safety improvements for organisers, specially about a new procedure for APD´s in the future. Members were sharing the procedures they are using in their country to make sure APD´s are following all rules and standards. This issue will also be discussed with the CCP in the next meeting in autumn. A long discussion was going on about late withdrawals from a Pairs event and it was concluded that more discipline from Members and FMN´s to support organisers is needed”.
Trial Commission
The Commission discussed about some proposal to the rules and worked on the draft of 2024 calendar.
Magnus Liljeblad – Chairman Trial Commission
“The Commission had a fruitful meeting with good discussions. Members have been working hard the last days and we now have a possible full 2024 calendar, even if there are some still events that still need to be confirmed. We had two proposals about changing age and capacity of some classes, but after a lot of discussions and considering the rules in different countries, we couldn`t agree”.
Motoball Commission
The Commission discuss a number of issues, including the new organisation planned for 2024, namely a European Nations Championship in Houlgate, France, at the end of August 2024, and the EMCC, which will be contested over three rounds in three different countries.
Pascale Reschko Jacquot – Motoball Commission
“We made an initial assessment of the new competition created for this year (EMCC), the first round of which was held in Lithuania last May. The main objective is to offer new opportunities to attract an even wider audience”.
Vintage Commission
The Commission had the occasion to make the point of the current season, discussing changes to the rules that seem to be necessary to improve some disciplines. The Commission also decided to propose a seminar for Jury Presidents that will be open to everybody that would like to have a FIM Europe license.
José Campos Costa – Chairman Vintage Commission
“During the meeting the members were informed about the races run till now. They afterwards discussed about some changes to the rules, mainly in Enduro and Road Racing-Hill Climb. We also talked about the proposal of a seminar for Jury Presidents”.
E-Bike Commission
The Commission analysed the 2022 season and supervised the activities planned for 2023.
Gianluca Avenoso – Chairman E-Bike Commission
“The world of electric mobility is constantly expanding and new realities are growing every day. We are working to try to bring the users of these new vehicles closer to the racing world”.
Public Affairs Commission
A thought-provoking session took place for more than six hours. The agenda was extended by an additional half hour to delve into crucial parameters that will shape the structure and functioning of the CAP committee in the future. While the group managed to outline a preliminary framework, it is far from having a concrete and official concept ready for public announcement. More discussions are expected throughout the remainder of the year as CAP works towards a final proposal.
Dimitris Margaritis – Chairman of Public Affairs Commission
“CAP members addressed the need to revaluate the committee’s structure and establish key foundations for a sustainable vision. This includes exploring the possibility of merging with other motorcycle advocacy organizations across Europe. Over the coming months, we will thoroughly investigate all potential avenues and meticulously plan our next course of action. Our ultimate goal is to enhance the representation of riders in European affairs, aiming for a stronger presence”.
Touring Commission
The Touring Commission went through the details of the upcoming 2023 activities, namely the T/As training to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 24th-26th August and FIM Europe Club Meeting in Prosecco hills in Italy on 26th-29th September, ensuring the highest degree of safety and services to the participants in both events. Brainstorming of the members opened interesting horizons for future activities, such as an European Women Riders Meeting, an ATV T/As training course and the possibility to set a junior non-racing riders camp among them.
Panagiotis Kalaitzis – Chairman Touring Commission
“It is always so fulfilling to work as a team in a field we love and are passionate about, Motorcycle Touring, and this passion shows in the results and accomplishments of the Touring Commission. We take this opportunity to thank the FIM Europe Administration for the constant support of our efforts”.
Environment Commission
The members presented the activities in their countries, exchanged their experiences and discussed about the development of the Green Education Strategy which is the main project of the Commission for many years.
Grazyna Makowska – Chairman Environment Commission
“It’s important for us that environmental stewards are more active, especially on the ground of young riders education. The education of the organisers is very important too. We want to know better the position of the environmental representatives in the National Federations and we prepared a very short questionnaire which will be sent in the next few days”.
Judicial Panel
The members of the Judicial Panel discussed the directions of the possible amendment of the regulations, as well as cases and questions brought before.
Piotr Piekutowski – Chairman Judicial Panel
“The competition in motorcycling sports should be safe and fair play. The codes and regulations should make a fair play of all motorcycle sports with transparent competition for all competitors”.
Medical Panel
Medical panel at today’s meeting discussed the need to establish a system for notifying riders injuries sustained at various races, not just FIME races. Therefore, there is a need to start medical inspections in individual competitions again in the following seasons.
Srecko Margetic – Chairman Medical Panel
“We discussed new concussion guidelines that were published a few days ago and will be included in the Medical Code after consultation with the FIM Medical Commission. Dr. Tomaž Broz has informed us of upcoming changes to the Anti-Doping Code”.
The day ended with the Meeting of the General Secretaries, chaired by Mr Alessandro Sambuco, FIM Europe Secretary General. Among the topics discussed were some clarifications on licenses, digital developments, web 3.0, the FIM Europe digital archive and the next initiatives of the FIM Europe Club, on the road on the Prosecco hills – Italy in September and in Lapland with snowmobiles the next March.
Alessandro Sambuco – FIM Europe Secretary General
“It was a satisfaction to resume this meeting with the FMNs colleagues after the last time in 2019 in Zagreb. We took the opportunity to reiterate the personal and professional value of these meetings that we should carry out both in the workplace and in the free moments in which we share our passion for Motorcycling”.
Tomorrow we are expecting the third and last day of the 2023 FIM Europe Congress: the schedule foresees the Management Council in the morning and the General Assembly in the afternoon.
Links
FIM Europe Congress
Real Federación Motociclista Española
