FIM North America Concurs with FIM on Russian Athletes Eligibility
Pickerington, Ohio — On March 5, 2022, the Board of Directors of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) announced its condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its decision to suspend the Motorcycle Federation of Russia (MFR) and the Belarusian Federation of Motorcycle Sport (BFMS) as a result. The FIM Board also recommended that all affiliated members of the FIM and FIM Continental Unions take similar action.
In keeping with this decision and the FIM Board’s recommendation, the Board of Directors of FIM North America unanimously concurred with the FIM Board’s action and will honor its request by prohibiting riders from the Russian and Belarusian motorcycle federations from participating in FIM North America activities.
Consistent with this action, riders from these federations will also be prohibited from participation in the activities of both FIM North America member federations, the Canadian Motorcycle Association and the American Motorcyclist Association.
Riders are typically required to secure start permissions from their home federations to race in a foreign country or be released from their home federations to the federation of the country hosting the event. Since the rights and privileges of the Russian and Belarusian federations have been suspended by the FIM, neither can grant a start permission nor provide a release. As a practical matter, riders from those federations are already prohibited from riding in other countries by the original FIM action.