Friday 2 December 2022, all National Federations present with the right to vote expressed their opinion during the vote, following which Mr Jorge VIEGAS was re-elected as FIM President for a second four-year term in office. Mr Giovanni COPIOLI, Board Member since 2018 and Italian Motorcycling Federation President (FMI) since 2016, was re-elected as Board Member. Two new members were also elected, namely Ms Giedrė LESKAUSKIENĖ, President of the Lithuanian Motorcycle Sport Federation (LMSF) since 2021, who became the first female Board Member to be elected by the FIM General Assembly, and Mr Sébastien POIRIER, President of the French Motorcycling Federation (FFM) since 2020. The FIM President thanked Mr Jacques BOLLE, elected Board Member in 2014 and Vice-President since 2018, and Mr Jan STOVICEK, Board Member since 2019, for their precious contribution to the FIM activities.
The following topics were submitted to the delegates of the 98 national federations present during this FIM General Assembly which featured an electronic voting system:
FIM President: The report from the FIM President was unanimously approved. The main items addressed included the following: confirmation of the decisions taken by the Board during its extraordinary meeting held on 5 March 2022 related to the situation in Ukraine while reiterating sympathy and solidarity with all those suffering; financial assistance provided to the FMNs; current and future contracts with FIM World Championships promoters; information regarding the 2022 and 2023 sporting and non-sporting season including the reform of Trial as of 2023, the significant safety regulations updates mainly in circuit racing and rally and the launch of the second phase of the FIM Racing Homologation Programme (FRHP); in the framework of the efforts deployed by the FIM towards sound reduction, the FIM will make sound-meters available to FMNs based on needs. In addition, the President also addressed the energy transition with a focus on emerging technologies, eco fuels, as well as electric motorcycles and new opportunities. The FIM vintage sporting activities were also presented. An update was provided on the celebration of the FIM 120th anniversary in 2024 and on the project to create a motorcycle sport museum as well as a new FIM administrative building.
Finance: The General Assembly approved the 2021 financial statements and the 2023 budget.
Sports: All disciplines were presented with a particular focus on the new technologies (electric Trial, E‑Xplorer, MotoE) and the new format foreseen in MotoGP, including sprint races, was discussed. A Sand Races World Cup will be organised in 2023. Safety regulations updates in all disciplines were outlined, including the introduction of the FIM homologated fuel quick-fill system.
FMNs/CONUs: The affiliations of Senegal (FSAM), Georgia (NNLE) and Barbados (BBMF) were approved, bringing up to 119 the total number of national federations affiliated to the FIM.
Election of three Internal Auditors: The delegates of the National Federations re-elected Mr Francesco BRANDI, put forward by the FMI. Two new members were elected, namely Mr Patrick BERTAUD (FFM) and Mr Martin JARL (SVEMO).
List of International Judges: The General Assembly confirmed of the appointments of Mr Jacques BOLLE (FFM) as Director of the List of International Judges (LJI) for 2023-2026, as well as the following LJI members for the same term: Mr Carlos, CANO REMESAL (RFME) , Mr Michel GRAVÉ (FFM), Mr Robert HOFSTETTER (CAMOD), Mr Manuel MARINHEIRO (FMP), Mr Marek MAŁECKI (PZM), Mr Santiago PUIG I VILADOMIU (RFME), Mr Ernesto RUSSO (FMI), Mr Anand SASHIDHARAN (FMSCI), Mr Frantisek SCHULMANN (ACU), Mr Stefan STEINLE (DMSB) and Mr Sakari VUORENSOLA (SML).
Amendments to the FIM Sporting Code: The General Assembly approved the amendments to the Sporting Code and the new calendar and licence fees proposals.
2023 FIM General Assembly and FIM Awards: The candidature of the city of Liverpool (Great Britain) was retained to host the 2023 FIM General Assembly and FIM Awards.
2023 Commissions Conference: The Conference will take place in Lille (France) from 7 to 13 February 2023.
In addition, the Chair of the Strategic Plan Committee, Digitalisation Working Group, the CONU Presidents, the Commission Directors and the departments of the Administration presented their respective progress reports.
FIM Awards and Recognitions and FMN Anniversaries: The gold medal Nicolas Rodil del Valle was awarded to Mr Franco ACERBIS, founder of the Italian company ACERBIS specialised in the production of motorcycling gear and equipment since 1973. Mr Dimitrios KAPPOGIANNIS BAVELLAS collected the silver medal Nicolas Rodil del Valle awarded posthumously to his grandfather Mr Angelos BAVELLAS, for his long-term service, commitment and dedication to the FIM.
Seven honorary memberships and one member of Honour were approved by the General Assembly namely:
- Mr Jacques BOURGUIGNON (FMB), Honorary LJI Member
- Mr Bill CUMBOW (AMA), Honorary CCR Member
- Mr Achilles DAMEN (KMNV), Honorary CPM Director
- Mr Eddie HERD (BMF), Honorary CMS Member
- Mr Pieter-Paul VERMEULEN (KNMV), Honorary CMI Member
- Mr David FRANCIS (ACU), Honorary CCI Member
- Mr Peter BALÁŽ (SMF), Member of Honour
In addition, the FIM General Assembly recognised the winners of the 2022 FIM Touring World Challenge, Zvonko JURIĆ (HMS) in the rider category and the 2022 FIM Touring World Challenge was granted to the Moto Clube do Porto (FMP) in the club category.
The FIM Family Trophy was awarded to Motorcycling Australia (MA) for its project titled Rider Concussion Research and Seminar.
The 2022 Environmental Honourable Mention was awarded to Discovery Sports Events for the EWC Sustainability Programme.
Fifteen FMNs were congratulated on their anniversaries in 2022: 10 years for FADM (Angola), CMSF (Cambodia), AMSRSF (Kyrgyzstan); 20 years for FMCI (Ivory Coast), 30 years for AMFK (Kazakhstan), FMRM (Moldova), UPM (Panama), FMU (Ukraine), 40 years for LMV (Liechtenstein), 60 years for MSZ (Zimbabwe), 70 years for BAMF (Bahrain), 100 years for SML (Finland), MUL (Luxemburg), 110 years for FMB (Belgium) and 120 years for MCUI (Ireland).
FIM President, Mr Jorge VIEGAS: “I am very grateful for the continued support I have received and for the federations who felt that I deserved their vote. The last four years have been an incredible journey that has only been made possible thanks to the incredible team I have worked with. I must also thank Mr. Jacques BOLLE, elected member of the Board in 2014 and Vice-President in 2018, and Mr. Jan STOVICEK, member of the Board since 2019, for their invaluable contribution over the last years and who for sure will continue to collaborate with the FIM. I would like to thank all the National Federations, Continental Unions, Directors and Members of Commissions, Officials and Volunteers as well as the organisers, riders, promoters and all other FIM stakeholders who have made motorcycle sport possible during this difficult period. The FIM family has shown its ability to overcome crises and strengthen its position as a strong global player. We can be proud of the tremendous achievements of 2022. I look forward to another exciting sporting season in 2023 and to celebrate together the next world champions in Liverpool (Great Britain).”