The first-ever FIM Intercontinental Games (ICG) takes place this coming weekend (30 November and 1 December) when forty-eight riders from across the world will converge on the iconic Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto to decide which of the FIM’s six Continental Unions (CONU) can legitimately lay claim to being number one.
First envisaged by current FIM President Jorge Viegas back in 2002, it is very fitting that the inaugural ICG – the City of Jerez FIM Intercontinental Games – is taking place towards the conclusion of the FIM’s one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary year and will bring together competitors from the CONUs of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania, for two days of sporting celebrations.
For the first edition of this biennial event, competition will be limited to Supersport and Supersport 300 classes with R7 and R3 machines provided by ICG Official Partner Yamaha Motor Europe although, as the ICG becomes more established, other disciplines will be added. In keeping with the FIM’s ethos of encouraging diversity, the ICG provides an inclusive platform and each eight-rider team includes two female racers in their line-ups with one in each class.
Each CONU will race in its own colours – Asia in yellow, Latin America in purple, Oceania in green, Europe in blue, Africa in black and North America in red – with bespoke race suits with electronic airbags along with chest and back protectors and gloves provided by SPIDI, custom GP 800 FIM Racing #1 helmets from Airoh and XP9-R boots from XPD. Dunlop will supply the tyres, Beta the tools and Panta Racing Fuel the petrol.
With team line-ups already published, there are two late changes to the entry list. Replacing Spain’s Maria Herrera as FIM Europe’s woman rider on an R7, is twenty-eight-year-old Roberta Ponziani from Italy who finished fifth this year in the first-ever FIM Women’s Circuit World Championship and scored two fourth-placed finishes at Jerez at the series finale last month.
The other change is to FIM North America where, also in the Supersport class, Andrew Lee has been brought in to replace Rocco Landers. A two-time MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion, Lee is hugely experienced and this year contested the fabled 8 Hours of Spa Motos at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
Yesterday saw FIM officials conduct the riders’ briefing to explain the rules and provide important information ahead of this afternoon’s initial hour long non-timed Practice sessions for each category. This allowed the riders the chance to familiarise themselves with the circuit, their motorcycles and equipment before the first Free Practice session tomorrow.
Tomorrow each class will get two thirty-minute Free Practice sessions followed in the afternoon by four twenty-minute Qualifying sessions.
With Qualifying taken care of, the serious business of scoring points gets under way on Sunday (1 December) at 11am (local time) with the first of two fourteen-lap races for Supersport 300 riders. Competitors in the Supersport class will compete over two sixteen-lap races and at the conclusion of racing all scores will be combined to decide the first-ever FIM Intercontinental Games champion CONU.
With so many talented riders from across the planet involved, at this stage it is impossible to identify a pre-Games favourite although what is guaranteed is that the combination of youth and experience will make for a thrilling and very fascinating contest that will help lay the foundations of this new and exciting event for many years to come.
Organised with the support of the City of Jerez and the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, the FIM Intercontinental Games brings together forty-eight riders from nineteen countries and takes place on 30 November and 1 December 2024.
Don’t miss out on the first-ever edition of FIM Intercontinental Games!
- Live Timing Available HERE
- Watch all the action live worldwide on FIM-MOTO.TV, in Europe on Discovery+and Max and in Australia on FOX Sports and Kayo Sports. Please check the availability of these platforms in your regions.
- Access regulations and the latest information through the Sportity app using the password FIMICG.