All motorcycling enthusiasts have heard of the FIM. But what's the history behind these three letters? To start, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, which today governs all the international championships worldwide, came into existence under another name: at the time of its creation, in 1904, in Paris, it was called the Fédération Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes (FICM). After somewhat shaky beginnings, the Fédération really got going in 1912, at the time of two meetings in London and then in Paris, the latter being attended by the ten countries considered as the founding members. The following year saw the first event organised under the aegis of the FICM: the international Six Days Reliability Trial.
By 1936, la Federation boasted 30 member countries and it was in that year that a first FICM official speedway world championship was held. In 1947, shortly after the Second World War, the first Motocross of Nations was organised, followed two years later by two important events: the FICM became the FIM and the most prestigious motorcycling competition came into existence, the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, ancestor of MotoGP.
Since then, the FIM has not ceased to develop with the addition of new members and through its interest in more and more motorcycle disciplines of a wide variety.
Its tasks cover several aspects, the first being to regulate the various disciplines on the sports level and organise their schedules. But it also deals with non-sporting activities such as tourism.
Headquartered in Geneva since 1959, the FIM has been presided since 2006 by the Venezuelan Vito Ippolito, doctor of philosophy (the first non-European president since the foundation of the Federation), with a French chief executive, Stéphane Desprez. It is organised in commissions managing each discipline.
