FIM EUROPE ELECTIONS:WOLFGANG SRB NEW PRESIDENT

EUROPEAN MOTOCROSS TITLES ASSIGNED 

TONY CAIROLI’S 8TH TITLE: HIS START IN EUROPEAN SUPERCROSS

Nr 1/2014 - September/October

«I'm here to listen all the European Federations' needs and to bring their messages to the right people»«I'm here to listen all the European Federations' needs and to bring their messages to the right people»

DR. WOLFGANG SRBDR. WOLFGANG SRBIS NEW IS NEW FIM EUROPE PRESIDENTFIM EUROPE PRESIDENT

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The 20th FIM Europe Congress held at theSheraton Hotel in Crakow was the occasionfor the election of the new FIM Europe Pre-sident. Two were the candidates for the lea-dership of the Continental Union thatgroups 47 Federations: Wolfgang Glas fromGermany and Wolfgang Srb from Austria.With a large majority, it was Wolfgang Srbto be elected: 63 votes against 12. The Con-gress counted the largest number of Fede-rations ever present, with 43 FMNs out of47, for a total of 76 disposable votes and aquorum of 39 (34 federations had 2 votes,8 federations disposed of 1 vote and one fe-deration had no vote).

During the Congress there was the electionof 8 vice-presidents, too: Nina Birjukova,LaMSF-Latvia, Jean-Marc Desnues, FFM-France, Martin De Graaff, KNMV, The Ne-therlands, Juhani Halme, SML, Finland, SilvioManicardi, FMI, Italy, Michal Sikora,PZM, Po-land, Jan Stovicek ACCR, Czech Republic, Mi-chel Turk, MUL, Luxembourg. Four judgesand two auditors were also elected by ac-clamation.

Wolfgang Srb approached to the world ofmotorbikes in the early Eighties as a Spor-ting Steward of the Austrian Federation.«One day Heinz Kinigader (250cc Moto-

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

«I'm here to listen all the European Federations' needs and to bring their messages to the right people»«I'm here to listen all the European Federations' needs and to bring their messages to the right people»

DR. WOLFGANG SRBDR. WOLFGANG SRBIS NEW IS NEW FIM EUROPE PRESIDENTFIM EUROPE PRESIDENT

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

cross World Champion 1984 + 1985)spoke in an interview about the fact thatfor the first time an Austrian was leadingthe Motocross World Championship, butthe Federation did not send a Jury Mem-ber to the races to support him», recallsSrb when asked about his first steps inmotorsport. «To make a long story short:I was asked if I would be interested andI simply said yes. This is how it started».

His main target is to strengthen the po-sition of FIM Europe within the FIM fa-mily.

«FIM Europe is not only the biggest Con-tinental Union in terms of affiliated Fe-derations, but also in terms of thebiggest number of riders, licences, orga-nisers and events», Srb comments.«There is an urgent need for a bigger fi-nancial support from FIM for Europeanprojects.

«There are plenty of ideas in Europe andwe simply want a fair share of the sub-ventions, taking into account that we arethe biggest and most active CONU. Weneed to give more help to developing Fe-derations, who have financial problems.The financial crisis, that has hit the worldas of 2008, is still not over».

Among his goals, the development andgrowth of the sport in all disciplines in closecooperation with FIM, Federations andpromoters, especially for young riders.

«A very good example is the EuropeanMotocross Championship, which is orga-nised together with the Motocross WorldChampionship at the same venue and onthe same weekend», says Srb. «We needmore training camps for riders as well asnational coaches and trainers. We needto find a solution for the European RoadRacing Championship.

«Another important field of activity is themotorcycle tourism», Srb adds. «Wemust become more attractive for allthese riders. We need to work in closercooperation with FIM and other CONUs.In other words: FIM Europe needs to bem ore active and stronger, but at thesame time the management has to workefficient and cost effective. We have tolisten to the needs of our affiliated Fede-rations and have to help and supportthem as much as we can.

Wolfgang Srb as FIM Europe Presidentwill represent the 47 European Motor-cycling Federations. «I'm not here fulfilmy personal things, I'm here to listen allthe European Federations' needs and tobring their messages to the right people»said Srb immediately after his election.

The 20th FIM Europe Congress in Cracowhosted the 8th edition of Road Safety Con-ference. The event traditionally combineswith the Continental Union Congress, andevery year a different subject matter is illu-

strated. After dealing with the themes ofroad incidentality, of industry responsesand initiatives, of the systems to improveRoad Safety, on traumatic injuries and firstaid, of 2-wheeler behaviour and safety, of

roadside barriers and crash tests, this yearthe Road Safety Conference dealt with the-mes related with Safety concepts and de-vices derived from Track, such as airbag formotorcyclists. The main aim was to de-monstrate how the experience of the trackcan be transferred to improve road safetyin everyday's use.

The conference was held under the auspi-ces of Silvio Manicardi, chairman of FIM Eu-rope Marketing Commission, and ofJean-Pierre Moreau, Chairman of Public Af-fairs Commission.

As tradition dictates, the first lecturer tospeak was a representative of the hostingFederation: Ms Ilona Buttler, of Road SafetyCentre, in the Motor Transport Institute,opened the Conference illustrating RoadSafety situation in Poland. It emerged thatthe percentage of motorcycle and mopedriders involved in road accidents in Polandin 2013 is respectively of 3,3% and of 3%and that the percentage of killed in motor-cycle accidents is 6,4%, while 2,6% is inju-red. Among the main causes: high speedfor the conditions, illegal overtaking, failure

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to maintain a safe distance. It also emergedthat only 34,1% of motorcylists wears a te-chnical jacket.

The second lecturer was racetrack designerJarno Zaffelli from Dromo: in his intervention«From circuit safety to road safety», he ex-plained the safety and risk analysis system hedeveloped: DroCAS, which deals with Run Offdimensioning and risk assessment for motor-sports. The core of this process is the use oflatest technologies in terms of performancesimulation (MotoGP and Formula 1) and riskassessment. DroCAS is used to turn incidentexperience in an objective tool to assess risks

inside and outside racetracks. «When weknow the real limit of the track, we start to si m u l a t e accidents depending on vehiclecategories. With this huge amount of data inmind, we develop escape lines diagrams withmeter by meter accuracy to locate safety bar-riers, concrete barriers, fences, marshallsposts and cameramen in the safest and bestplace, even after track modification», Zaffellisaid, referring also to the correct positioningof ambulances.

Another interesting theme was that by ColinBallantyne of Alpinestars, about the «Deve-lopment of an airbag system for racing». The

protection system was explained, with all itsdevices, and in particular the Tech Air RaceControl Unit, which is able to analyse the col-lision and classify it as a crash, detecting thenecessity of "fire decision". The video withJorge Lorenzo's high side in Laguna Seca wascast, to show the flight time and the impactwith the ground. In the event of a crash, air-baig inflation requires 45 ms, the protectiveperformance is guaranteed for 5 seconds andthe deflation within 20s. In 60 s it is ready fornext inflation.

The following intervention was by FedericoSabbioni, Head of Vehicle Project Manage-ment in Ducati Motor Holding, who illustra-ted Ducati Multistrada D-Air with DaineseAirbag system together with Stefano Gras-selli of Dainese. Until now, a motorcycle withairbag jacket system did not exist. Multi-strada D-Air is the first ever production mo-torcycle wirelessly integrated with airbagriding jackets. Combining the expertise ofboth Ducati and Dainese, the intelligent pas-sive safety system uses sensors built into theMultistrada's existing electronics to constan-tly understand the vehicle's dynamic situa-tion and deploying only when subjected to agenuine accident scenario. The MultistradaD-Air system completes the data analysis andairbag deployment inside both the rider andpassenger jackets in just 45 milliseconds,considerably reducing the risk of injury uponimpact.

Ducati D-Air Street System comprehendsdouble sensors and double radio connec-tions, and provides the back and the chestwith airbag protection and prevents hyperex-tension, hyperflexion and compression of theneck. The intelligent system of sensors is wi-relessly connected to Ducati Apparel airbagjackets by Dainese. The Multistrada D-Air sy-stem completes the data analysis and airbagdeployment inside both the rider and passen-ger jackets in just 45 milliseconds, considera-bly reducing the risk of injury upon impact.

In the photo below, the 8th Road Safety Conference.From the left,Silvio Manicardi, Jean-Pierre Moreau, IlonaButtler, Federico Sabbioni, Stefano Grasselli, Colin Bal-lantyne

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6 FIM Europe Mag 1/2014

During MXGP of Belgium, round fifteenof the FIM Motocross World Cham-pionship in Lommel, Youthstream Pre-sident Mr. Giuseppe Luongo joined FIMEurope President Dr. Wolfgang Srb, FIMSecretary General Alessandro Sambucoand MXGP Academy trainer and two-time FIM Motocross World ChampionJohn Van Den Berk in a press confe-rence to announce that as of 2015 You-thstream’s latest project the “MXGPAcademy” will be officially managed byFIM Europe but will still receive on-going support from Youthstream.The MXGP Academy trains, developsand guides young riders to achieve eve-rything they can within the sport ofmotocross. Because the project targets ouryouth, with the youth being linked heavilyto their national motorcycling federations,the next logical step in the evolution of theMXGP Academy project was to place itunder the management of FIM Europe. Inaddition to riders’ training, MXGP Academywill also train trainers so that riders receiveprofessional advice.Mr. Giuseppe Luongo said: «FIM Europetoday has new driving force with manyyears of experience in motocross, Dr. Wol-fgang Srb. Together we realized that itwould benefit the academy more to be ma-naged by the FIM Europe as they are regu-larly in contact with the nationalmotorcycling federations, they have much

better contact and as a result this will assistthe academy in having more structure. You-thstream will continue to partner and sup-port the academy with media coverage, aswell as financially, and we feel this is thebest way to give the academy the best op-portunity and more power. MXGP Academyis an essential part of the pyramid of suc-cess which starts with the MXGP Academy,then goes up to the European MX Cham-pionships, MX2 and finally the diamondpoint of the pyramid which is MXGP».Dr. Wolfgang Srb agreed: «For FIM Europethis is a very important and very good step,and I want to thank Mr. Giuseppe Luongofor giving us (FIM Europe) the opportunityto be the umbrella of the MXGP Academy.We, at FIM Europe, have good contacts

with the European Federations, but notonly within Europe, we are also in contactwith other continents. «The co-operation we have now with You -th stream does not exist in any other disci-pline, so to have the world championshipand European championships combined isawesome, it’s incredible, we are able to usethe exact same racing rules, the same te-chnical rules, the same officials and nowwith the academy on board, step by stepwe can guide the young riders into the FIMMotocross World Championship».

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MXGP Academy MXGP Academy to be managed by FIM Europeto be managed by FIM Europe ––MXGP Academy MXGP Academy to be managed by FIM Europeto be managed by FIM Europe

From the left, Mr. Alessandro Sambuco, SecretaryGeneral, Dr. Wolfgang Srb, FIM Europe President,Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream president, andMXGP Academy trainer John Van Den Berk

FIM Europe FIM Europe meets Dorna meets Dorna

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On Friday 15th August, in occasion of theMotoGP in Brno, Dorna’s offices have ho-sted an important meeting between theFIM Europe, represented by its PresidentDr. Wolfgang Srb and the Secretary Gene-ral Mr Alessandro Sambuco and the CEOof Dorna, Mr Carmelo Ezpeleta.As general subject on the table there wasthe  future of Road Racing and, specifi-cally, the role of the European Champion-ship  and  the  exam  of  a  possiblecollaboration with Dorna, not only for theclass Superstock 600, currently runningwith SBK, but also for  the same EuropeanChampionship.The convergence of the necessity to workfor  the sporting value of  the EuropeanChampionship, beyond the economic andorganisational aspects, has seen the con-crete willingness  of  Dorna,  to  find  thebest possible solution in close coopera-tion with the FIM Europe.«I am very happy about the meeting withMr. Ezpeleta», has declared the FIM Eu-rope President. «We have discussed rele-vant issues in the context of a successfulEuropean Road Racing Championship inthe future as well as close cooperationFIM Europe with Dorna, which would befor the benefit of all parties: riders, teams,manufacturers, sponsors, organisers andFederations. I expect more details in theweeks to come».In the photo, Dr. Srb shakes hands withMr. Ezpeleta.

Last Summer, the series of meetings plan-ned by FIME President Dr. Wolfgang Srbcontinued without a break, in order to ou-tline quickly a framework of the current si-tuation and future plans concerningContinental Motorcycling.

On July 23rd was held the Executive BoardMeeting of the new FIM Europe manage-ment. The meeting, which is the first ofthe mandate which has just started afterthe election of Dr. Wolfgang Srb as new FIMEurope President on July 5th, was hostedby Youthstream Media, at its headquartersin Geneva Airport. Among the que-stions faced, it wasconsidered impor-tant to start imme-diately operationalactivities within FIMEurope, dealingwith the most rele-vant issues of thecurrent manage-ment and, most im-portantly, startingto plan future acti-vities both for thesport and for thenon-sport matters.The economic andfinancial situation

was also analyzed in order to make theavailable resources congruent with thefinal phase of the sports season and withfuture programs. The current FIM Europe management is ex-tremely determined to represent at itsbest the interests of its Federations orga-nizing for next year "very strong" cham-pionships which can be attractive whileperforming their role of "launch" of youngriders at national level towards the WorldChampionships. But at the same timethese championships must be "feasible" inrelation to the current economic situation

that the Continent is experiencing.«I am very satisfied with the meeting andthe full commitment of all the memberstowards a stronger FIM Europe», dr. Wol-fgang Srb said. «On top of our agenda aresubjects like to receive more subventionsfrom FIM for European projects, a Euro-pean Road Racing Championship as of 2015and an efficient and cost effective mana-gement of FIM Europe».

On July 31st a joint meeting took place bet-ween FIM Europe President Wolfgang Srb,accompanied by the General Secretary

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Meetings for the future of sport

Alessandro Sambuco, and the FIM Execu-tive Office, represented by Ignacio Ver-neda, executive director of Sports Division,Steve Aeschlimann, executive director ofOperations Division, and Francoise Emery,Strategy and Planning manager. The mee-ting was held in the Swiss city of Mies, atthe FIM provisional headquarters, whilethe new offices are being built in the samesite as the previous building in Geneve. The most important part of the meetingwas devoted to discussion on sports issueswith Ignacio Verneda: the current situationand future developments in all disciplineswere diffusedly analized. With Steve Aeschlimann and FrançoiseEmery future procedures were examined,for applying for grants for 2015 projects. «I felt that it was important to talk with theFIM Administration about the cooperationin the years to come, as well as to underlineour request for a substantial increase of thesubventions for European projects and ac-tivities», said at the end FIMEurope President Dr. Srb. «Iam confident that this willhappen in the future».

On the 20th August, an im-portant meeting betweenthe FIM President, Mr. VitoIppolito, and the FIM Eu-rope President, Dr. Wol-fgang Srb, has taken placeat the FIM Offices in Mies.Also the FIM Europe Gene-

ral Secretary, Mr. Alessandro Sambuco, waspresent at this meeting.The first official meeting between the twoPresidents, after the FIME elections held inCracow, has seen a substantial understan-ding and a strong will to have a full andtransparent cooperation between the twoorganisations, so as declared by PresidentSrb at the end of the meeting:«The meeting with the FIM President wentvery well. We discussed at length issues ofcommon interest, sporting as well as admi-nistrative. Both sides expressed their willfor a close cooperation in the future and re-gular meetings of the Presidents as well asfrequent meetings of the FIM CEO and theFIM Europe Secretary General in matters ofdaily business. «The harmonization of sporting rules hasto continue and the President of a CONUCommission has to be a member of the cor-responding FIM Commission. The sporting-pyramid “National Championship –

Continental Championship – World Cham-pionship” is established and is supported byall the parties. I have underlined the re-quest of FIM Europe, as the biggest andmost active Continental Union, for a sub-stantial increase of the subventions for Eu-ropean projects and activities».During the second part of the meeting,President Ippolito, together with FIM Eu-rope General Secretary, started the exami-nation of the reorganization plan of theGeneral Secretariat in Rome, which will besubmitted to the next FIME ManagementCouncil Meeting in Riga.The aforesaid plan foresees the implemen-tation of human resources and the upda-ting of the internal structure, in order togrant the effectiveness of the staff workalso in view of the huge quantity of pro-jects that are going to be launched, like therecent acquisition of the management ofthe Youthstream MXGP Academy, startingfrom 2015. Meetings 

for the future of sport

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in the photo on the left, the start ofEMX250 in Spain. Below, from theright, Dr. Wolfgang Srb, Mr. Vito Ip-polito and Mr. Alessandro Sambuco

On September 17th, in the offices of Ita-lian Federation in Rome a meeting aboutthe future of European Road Racing washeld. With the coordination of Dr. Wol-fgang Srb, FIM Europe President, the mee-ting registered the presence of Martin DeGraaff, FIM Europe First Deputy Presidentand Sporting Council President, Silvio Ma-nicardi, FIM Europe second Deputy Presi-dent, Alessandro Sambuco, SecretaryGeneral of FIM Europe, Ejgil Solkaer, Chair-man of FIM Europe Road Racing Commis-sion, Paola Bianchetti, FIM Europe Generaland Sport Services, Stijn Rentmeesters, Se-cretary General of Belgian Federation, Jo-chen Schaefer, Motorcycle Sportresponsible in German Federation, Séba-stien Poirier, General Director of French Fe-deration, Vincent Chaumet-Riffaud, SportDirector of French Federation, Paolo Sesti,President of Italian Federation, Alfredo Ma-stropasqua, Marketing responsible for Ita-

lian Federation, Simone Folgori, Road Ra-cing responsible for Italian Federation,Fabio Fazi, member of FIM Technical Com-mission, Luigi Favarato, President of AlpeAdria Motorcycle Union, Stelios Korelis,President of Greek Federation, Jacek Molik,Road Racing responsible of the Polish Fe-deration, Iannis Tzortzopoulos, Road Ra-cing Commission of Greek Federation andStefano Pacchioli, Dorna COO World SBK. The proposals from Fabio Fazi, from Al-fredo Mastropasqua, from Mr. Ejgil Solkaer,from KNMV, from Rezso Bulcsu, Mr Gerry

Brice of Racedays Promotion, from the Slo-vak Federation and from the Federation ofLuxembourg were discussed. Dr. Srb was extremely pleased by the pro-posal of Dorna, that FIM CEV Repsol Inter-national Championship will become thenew European championship for Moto2and Superbike classes, while European 600Superstock will be maintained in the calen-dar of World Superbike Championship. The participants underlined the necessityof a low cost European Moto3 class foryoung riders.

In the photo below, sitting, from the left Martin De Graaff, FIM Europe First Deputy President and Sporting CouncilPresident, FIM Europe President Dr. Wolfgang Srb, Alessandro Sambuco, Secretary General of FIM Europe, EjgilSolkaer, Chairman of FIM Europe Road Racing Commission. Standing, from the left, Jacek Molik, Road Racing re-sponsible of the PZM, Paola Bianchetti, FIM Europe General and Sporting Services, Jochen Schaefer, MotorcycleSport responsible in DMSB, Vincent Chaumet-Riffaud, Sport Director of FFM, Iannis Tzortzopoulos, Road RacingCommission of AMOTOE, Stefano Pacchioli, Dorna COO World SBK, Alfredo Mastropasqua, Marketing responsiblefor FMI, Simone Folgori, Road Racing responsible for FMI, Fabio Fazi, member of FIM Technical Commission, LuigiFavarato, President of Alpe Adria Motorcycle Union, Silvio Manicardi, FIM Europe second Deputy President, SteliosKorelis, President of AMOTOE and Stjn Rentmeesters, Secretary General FMB

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European Road Racing

Full agenda for FIM Europe Presidenton 18th September in Rome: Dr.Wolfgang Srb started his day with hisofficial settlement in his Italian of-fice, where his staff and SecretaryGeneral work. During the day, Dr. Srbhad two important meetings, withPresident of the European Weightlif-ting Federation Mr. Antonio Urso andProf. Fabio Pigozzi, President of theInternational Sports Medicine Fede-ration and Rector of the State Uni-versity of Rome “Foro Italico”. The cooperation between FIM Eu-rope and the European WeightliftingFederation had already started lastFebruary, with a Workshop onWeight Training for motorcycling ri-ders, reserved to FIME FMNs Trai-ners, in the Austrian city of Graz.The two disciplines, in fact, have se-veral points in common, and they re-veal complementary in training,since weightlifting allows riders toincrease their strength without aug-menting muscular mass, and there-fore weight.The meeting with Prof. Pigozzi wasmeant to continue the strong par-tnership started in 2011 and 2012with two Sports Medicine Coursesfor Event Physicians held respecti-vely in Imola and San Marino. Motor-cycling and Sports Medicine shouldshare experiences at all levels in fu-ture.The two meetings are part ofFIM Europe project to maintain and

establish new relationships withother Federations at European andWorld level."It is of utmost importance for FIMEurope and the affiliated NationalFederations that we have contactsbeyond our ‘typi-cal’ motorcycleacti vities, withother Internatio-nal Sports Federa-tions as well aswith UniversityPro fessor, Scienceand Research", Dr.Srb said. “This willbe for the benefitfor all of us. I con-sider these activi-ties as a per –ma nent task”.

FIM Europe Mag 1/2014

FIM EUROPE INSIDEFull agenda Full agenda for Dr. Wolfgang Srbfor Dr. Wolfgang Srb

Above, Dr. Srb in his office in FIM Europe General Secretariatin Rome. Below, Dr. Srb with, from the left, Prof. Pigozziand Mr. Sambuco, and, sitting at the table, with Mr. Ursoand Mr. Sambuco

The European Motocross champion-ship concluded its 2014 season inBelgium, on Lommel circuit. Six classes involved: 65 amd 85 ccfor the youngest riders, and then125, 150, 250 and 300 cc, with a dif-ferent calendar according to the va-rious classes, but always in thecontest of the Motocross worldchampionship. So which started inTrentino in April and continued forseven spectacular events in the cir-cuits of Sevlievo, in Bulgaria, on Val-kenswaard, in The Netherlands, ofSaint Jean d’Angely in France, andthen in Teutschental, in Germany,Loket, in Czech Republic, up to the

final races in the Belgian circuit ofLommel for 125 cc.The 150 cc calendar was slightly dif-ferent, with five races, in Valken-swaard, in the British circuit ofMatterley Basin, in Winchester, inTeutschenthal, in Loket and in Lom-mel, the 250 cc and 300 cc class fol-lowed the same calendar: started inSevlievo and continued in Spain, inTalavara de la Reina, in MatterleyBasin, in the Italian track of Mag-giora, in Uddevalla, Sweden, in Hy-vinkaa, Finland, and then concludedin Lommel. As for the smallest clas-ses, 65 and 85cc, there was a singlerace, in Finland, last July.

All classes showed full grids and fast;involving races.EMX125 In the 125 cc German-TaiwaneseBrian Hsu on Suzuki started with a5th and a 2nd place in GP of Trentinoand scored his first win at the fourthrace of the season, in France, but inthe following two GPs he collectedtwo doubles, and managed to con-quer the European title in front ofAlvin Ostlund: the Swedish rider sco-red a double in the last race but itwas not enough. Third position inchampionship for Davy Pootjes, fromNederland, who collected five wins,with a double in Italy and in his home

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European Motocross: the 2014 champions

FIM Europe Mag 1/2014

In the photo on the left, thestart of EMX300 in Belgium,above, the podium of theEMX65 class, with Dr. WolfgangSrb on the left and, on the po-dium, the new champion, Rus-sian rider Nikita Kucherov onKTM, who scored a second and afirst place in Hyvinkaa, beatingSwedish Noel Nilsson and compa-triot Maxim Kraev, both on KTM,too. Below, a shot of the race ofEMX125 in France.

SPORT NEWS

European Motocross: the 2014 champions

track, but missed collecting point inthe races of Germany and Belgium.

EMX150The 150 cc class saw two strongestriders dwelling for the title: EnglishAlbie Wilkie and Finnish Jere Haavi-sto, both on Honda. They finishedthe season separated by only 2points, with Alibie Wilkie new 150 ccEuropean Champion, after winningfour races, with a double in thehome-circuit, and three second pla-ces. Jere Haavisto, on his hand, col-lected five wins, with a double in thefinal race in Belgium, and three se-cond places, but a failure in the se-cond moto in Germany wasdeterminant. The third place in thefinal standings belongs to Albin Lar-sen, from Sweden, who never wonbut collected two podiums.

EMX250Incredible equality of forces in the250 cc class, between British riderSteven Clarke and Dutch Brian Bo-gers, both on KTM: after 14 motosthe two riders ended the champion-ship with the same points: 237 each.So the title was assigned accordingto the numbers of victories: two forClarke, one for Bogers, who had tosettle for the second position inchampionship.One win, but 23 points of difference,for the third rider of the final stan-ding: Adam Sterry, from Great Bri-tain, riding KTM, too.

EMX300The 300 cc class found its dominatorsince the first race: Italian SamueleBernardini on TM scored a double inBulgaria and managed to repeat hisfully successful days in Italy, Swedenand Finland. With his single moto wins inn En-gland and Belgium, he collected tenvictories in 14 races. Up to the lastrace, however, his compatriotMarco Maddii on KTM, who endedup ten times on the podium, sco-ring one win. English rider LewisGregory finished his season inthird position, with two wins andshowing a very good shape in the

last two events, where he collec-ted four second places.

JUNIOR CLASSESIn the EMX65 the new champion isRussian rider Nikita Kucherov onKTM, who scored a second and a firstplace in Hyvinkaa, beating SwedishNoel Nilsson and compatriot MaximKraev, both on KTM, too. In EMX85, Belgian Jago Geerts onKTM won both motos in Finland, con-quering the Continental title in frontof Dutch Roan Van De Moosdijk,twice second, and Finnish Kim Sava-ste, twice third. The three rideswere all on KTM.

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The start of EMX300 in Finland and,The start of EMX300 in Finland and,below, the arrival of Wilkie Albie in below, the arrival of Wilkie Albie in EMX150 in Great BritainEMX150 in Great Britain

Tony Cairoli has just conquered his 8thworld title in motocross and it is not a mi-stery to anybody that he points to winningat least two more ones, in order to reachthe 10 world championships won by StefanEverts, the most winning rider of all up tonow. Among all his successful seasons,there is also a Continental title: it was in2006, and he had already won a world titlein MX2 when he decided to take part to theEuropean Supercross Championship.Which he won, of course. A successful rider, but a gentle, quiet, ab-solutely unostentatious man, Tony Cairoliis very willing to recall that period with us.«I had just finished a demanding season inMX2», Cairoli says. «But I really wanted totry Supercross, also because in that periodI was still thinking of racing in the USA. Imanaged to take part to the two cham-pionships because Supercross started justafter the end of the world series. Super-cross is very far from motocross: fromtracks to motorbikes, from training to race-formats, everything is different, but I thinkit's very useful because it helps you to grow,especially from the technical point of view.That year we raced in Spain, in Italy, inFrance, in Switzerland and in Germany. Icollected three wins».Which is the race you liked more?«The last one, in Germany: I did not win,but with some placements I conquered theContinental title. I can't forget it».

Did you ever race in European Motocross?«A long time ago, I took part to three races,in the 85 cc class. I was 12 or 13 years old.I collected a third position and a retirementfor technical problems in France, two fifthplaces in Czech Republic, and a victory inItaly, in San Severino Marche track». Nowadays  the  European  MotocrossChampionship races are performed in thecontext of the World series. What do youthink of this new formula?«I think it's a very good idea, because itgives to young riders the chance to see theworld classes, which means learning morequickly».Things  were  different  when  you  wereyounger...«Yes, everything was more difficult».Who was your favourite rider when youwere a boy?«Among the Italians I liked Alex Puzar'sstyle».And when did you meet him for the firsttime?«In Arsago Seprio, in 1999, for Fast Cross. Ijust said hello to him...»Now, thanks to the European Champion-ship, young riders can ride side to side tothe champions. This is the case of JoakimFurbetta, the fastest Italian rider in 125 in2014, who sometimes trains with 8 timesworld champion Tony Cairoli. Which, com-pared to Tony's meeting with Alex Puzar ofseveral years ago, confirms that now things

are heavily different for young guys whowant to race in motocross at high levels:the European series confirms itself a cleverformula, the best arena for all those whoaim to world success.

Claudio De CarliA former rider, Claudio De Carli "discove-red" Tony Cairoli in 2003, called him in histeam and ever since the two continued to-gether their careers in motocross. Up tonow they have won 8 World titles and 1 Eu-ropean championship. In 2014 Claudio DeCarli placed his rider Joakim Furbetta in125 European Championship and in thenext season he will have a Junior Team,with the support of KTM.«I saw Tony by chance», recalls Claudio. «Inthat period there was not a European se-ries, so I always think that if I hadn't noticedhis talent on that day, maybe years wouldhave passed before somebody else wouldnotice him, or maybe it would have neverhappened... You never can say. Todaythings have changed in better for young ri-ders: racing in the same context of worldseries means that they can learn watchingolder riders and they have the chance toshow their talent to team managers andsponsors».

FIM Europe Mag 1/2014 15

The start of EMX300 in Finland and,The start of EMX300 in Finland and,below, the arrival of Wilkie Albie in below, the arrival of Wilkie Albie in EMX150 in Great BritainEMX150 in Great Britain

Tony Cairoli: Tony Cairoli: «The smart challenge «The smart challenge of European Motocross»of European Motocross»

SPORT NEWS 

  ––  FIM Europe  is a Continental Union,  FIM Europe  is a Continental Union,recognised  by  FIM,  that  groups  47recognised  by  FIM,  that  groups  47National Federations and 6 RegionalNational Federations and 6 RegionalMotorcycling  Associations  togetherMotorcycling  Associations  togetherand its aims are to develop and proand its aims are to develop and pro--mote all forms of motorcycling in Eumote all forms of motorcycling in Eu--rope as well as the co-operation andrope as well as the co-operation andfriendship between its members. Thisfriendship between its members. Thisis what we all know. But maybe notis what we all know. But maybe noteverybody  knows  that  people  whoeverybody  knows  that  people  who

work  in  FIM  Europe  are  motorcywork  in  FIM  Europe  are  motorcy--clists, too. clists, too. 

Motorcycling  is a particular  topic:  ifMotorcycling  is a particular  topic:  ifyou are keen on it and if you do pracyou are keen on it and if you do prac--tice  it  -  in any form - you can reallytice  it  -  in any form - you can reallyknow what are  the  things motorcyknow what are  the  things motorcy--clists need. From sporting to road saclists need. From sporting to road sa--fety,  from  encouraging  the  use  offety,  from  encouraging  the  use  ofmotorcycles in everyday use to devemotorcycles in everyday use to deve--loping motorcycle tourism, from suploping motorcycle tourism, from sup--

porting  the  creation  and  develop -porting  the  creation  and  develop -ment of motorcycling activities to orment of motorcycling activities to or--ganizing  camps  and  seminars  forganizing  camps  and  seminars  forriders,  officials,  coaches  and  ad -riders,  officials,  coaches  and  ad -ministrators of various FIM Europeministrators of various FIM EuropeMembers:  not  one  of  these  aimsMembers:  not  one  of  these  aimscould be pursued in the same way ifcould be pursued in the same way ifpeople who "compose" FIM Europepeople who "compose" FIM Europewere not motorcyclists, too. were not motorcyclists, too. 

We  spent  a  day with  four  of  them,We  spent  a  day with  four  of  them,

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

who  organised  a  pleasing  touristicwho  organised  a  pleasing  touristicride  by  bike:  Alessandro  Sambuco,ride  by  bike:  Alessandro  Sambuco,FIM Europe Secretary General, MarFIM Europe Secretary General, Mar--tin De Graaff, FIM Europe 1tin De Graaff, FIM Europe 1st st DeputyDeputyPresident, Rodolfo Romeo ChairmanPresident, Rodolfo Romeo Chairmanof  FIM  Europe  Judicial  Panel  andof  FIM  Europe  Judicial  Panel  andGianfranco D'Orazi,  Honorary ChairGianfranco D'Orazi,  Honorary Chair--man  of  FIM  Europe  Judicial  Panel.man  of  FIM  Europe  Judicial  Panel.They met early  in the morning nearThey met early  in the morning nearCivitavecchia and left for a whole dayCivitavecchia and left for a whole day

ride. On their bikes  - all BMW - theride. On their bikes  - all BMW - thefour of them rode for about 400 kms,four of them rode for about 400 kms,visiting the old towns of   Montefiavisiting the old towns of   Montefia--scone, Tarquinia, Farnese and Tuscascone, Tarquinia, Farnese and Tusca--nia,  touring  around  the  lake  ofnia,  touring  around  the  lake  ofBolsena and reaching Tuscany, to seeBolsena and reaching Tuscany, to seethe ancient, characteristic town of Pithe ancient, characteristic town of Pi--tigliano. During the lunch, in Ischia ditigliano. During the lunch, in Ischia diCastro,  we  asked  them  some  queCastro,  we  asked  them  some  que--stions about their passion for motorstions about their passion for motor--

bikes,  and  discovered  some  interebikes,  and  discovered  some  intere--sting things. sting things. "I've been riding a motorcycle since I"I've been riding a motorcycle since Iwas  18:  my  first  bike  was  a  Ducatiwas  18:  my  first  bike  was  a  Ducati250", says Martin De Graaff, FIM Eu250", says Martin De Graaff, FIM Eu--rope 1rope 1stst Deputy President. "But  it  isDeputy President. "But  it  isin  the  last  15  years  that  I  startedin  the  last  15  years  that  I  starteddoing motorcycle tourism seriously,doing motorcycle tourism seriously,riding about 15.000 kms a year.  I'veriding about 15.000 kms a year.  I'vebeen at 5  FIM Rallies and  the mostbeen at 5  FIM Rallies and  the most

PPuurree mmoottoorrccyyccll iissttssLLiikkee yyoouu

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

enjoyable  journeys  were  in  Irelandenjoyable  journeys  were  in  Irelandand Estonia. But if you forget rain andand Estonia. But if you forget rain andcold, all the rest is good, in any occacold, all the rest is good, in any occa--sion when you are riding. I also racedsion when you are riding. I also racedin enduro when  I was younger, andin enduro when  I was younger, andnow from time to time I still go withnow from time to time I still go withmy son".my son"."I started racing in enduro and moto"I started racing in enduro and moto--rally  in  1983  with  my  first  licencerally  in  1983  with  my  first  licencetaken with Moto  Club  Roma",  saystaken with Moto  Club  Roma",  saysAlessandro Sambuco, FIM Europe SeAlessandro Sambuco, FIM Europe Se--cretary  General.  "Since  I  had  beencretary  General.  "Since  I  had  beentraining riders already for a while,  Itraining riders already for a while,  Iwanted  to  discover  whether  theywanted  to  discover  whether  theywere  sort of aliens or  if  I  could getwere  sort of aliens or  if  I  could getsome sporting results, too! I raced upsome sporting results, too! I raced upto 1991 and in 2006 I founded Motorto 1991 and in 2006 I founded Motor--sport  Training & Medicine  Associasport  Training & Medicine  Associa--tion  and  started  my  activity  intion  and  started  my  activity  inmotorcycle tourism. My latest impormotorcycle tourism. My latest impor--tant journey by bike was a pilgrimagetant journey by bike was a pilgrimage

to  Santiago  deto  Santiago  deCompostela,  inCompostela,  inSpain,  in  2011.Spain,  in  2011.At  the  momentAt  the  momentmy  job  as  FIMmy  job  as  FIMEurope  SecreEurope  Secre--tary  Generaltary  Generaldoes  not  leavedoes  not  leave

me the time to travel much, so thisme the time to travel much, so thisyear I have the negative record of diyear I have the negative record of di--stance covered: only 1.000 kms. I gostance covered: only 1.000 kms. I goto the office by scooter every day, butto the office by scooter every day, but

it does not count! My best memoryit does not count! My best memoryon  a  motorbike?  All  enduro  races:on  a  motorbike?  All  enduro  races:since you always race  in enchantingsince you always race  in enchantingplaces,  even  if  was  raining  or  snoplaces,  even  if  was  raining  or  sno--wing,  or  if  I  had  to  cross  rivers  inwing,  or  if  I  had  to  cross  rivers  inflood,  the  things  I  remember moreflood,  the  things  I  remember moreare  landscapes,  colours  and  smells.are  landscapes,  colours  and  smells.Another beautiful experience was inAnother beautiful experience was inSardinia:  in 5 years of Rally School  ISardinia:  in 5 years of Rally School  Itraced  1.500  kms  of  roadbooks  intraced  1.500  kms  of  roadbooks  indream places".dream places"."M"My first ‘international’ trip by moy first ‘international’ trip by mo--

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

18

From the left, Martin De Graaff, Rodolfo Romeo, Gianfranco D’Orazi and Alessandro Sambuco

FIM Europe Mag 4/2014 19

torcycle  was  in  Greece,  with  atorcycle  was  in  Greece,  with  aHonda 350 Four silver grey", recallsHonda 350 Four silver grey", recallsRodolfo  Romeo,  Chairman of    FIMRodolfo  Romeo,  Chairman of    FIMEurope  Judicial  Panel.  "I  was  justEurope  Judicial  Panel.  "I  was  just18.  Then  I  discovered  offroad  and18.  Then  I  discovered  offroad  andstarted riding on the sand in Africa,started riding on the sand in Africa,but  I  also  took part  to motoralliesbut  I  also  took part  to motoralliesin Italy, with a Honda XR600. I havein Italy, with a Honda XR600. I haveridden in 67 different Countries, butridden in 67 different Countries, butmy best memory is linked to a jourmy best memory is linked to a jour--ney  in  Etiopia:  when  we  arrivedney  in  Etiopia:  when  we  arrivedwith our bikes people  stared at uswith our bikes people  stared at usas if we came from another planet!"as if we came from another planet!"

concludes   Rodolfo Romeo, who  isconcludes   Rodolfo Romeo, who  isalso President of Moto Club Roma,also President of Moto Club Roma,which is one of the oldest motorcywhich is one of the oldest motorcy--cle associations in Europecle associations in Europe.."Up to now I've taken part to 43 FIM"Up to now I've taken part to 43 FIMRallyes",  says  Gianfranco  D'Orazi,Rallyes",  says  Gianfranco  D'Orazi,Honorary Chairman of FIM Europe JuHonorary Chairman of FIM Europe Ju--dicial Panel, after having been its Predicial Panel, after having been its Pre--sident for years. sident for years. "I  started  travelling  in  1969  and"I  started  travelling  in  1969  andamong  the  rallies  I  remember withamong  the  rallies  I  remember withmore pleasure there are those of Lumore pleasure there are those of Lu--blin,  in Poland,  in the period of  theblin,  in Poland,  in the period of  the

Iron  Curtain,  and  a  really  beautifulIron  Curtain,  and  a  really  beautifuljourney in Tunisia. When I was younjourney in Tunisia. When I was youn--ger I also took part to races: to the fager I also took part to races: to the fa--mous "Motogiro", which now is livesmous "Motogiro", which now is livesin  its Memorial edition, but  I attenin  its Memorial edition, but  I atten--ded it in its ‘real’ form, when it comded it in its ‘real’ form, when it com--prehended special tests of speed andprehended special tests of speed andof regularity". of regularity". FIM Europe  is made up of pure moFIM Europe  is made up of pure mo--torcyclists. Exactly like you.torcyclists. Exactly like you.

Fiammetta La GuidaraFiammetta La Guidara

“People don’t take trips... trips take people”

John Steinbeck

FIM EUROPE INSIDE

FIM Europe Mag 1/2014

FIM Europe Mag4/2014