As one of the great success stories in the world of motorcycle events, the World Enduro Super Series has found itself attracting the attention of one of the biggest names in the business – the FIM.
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) is the global governing body for motorcycle racing, meaning if you want to hold an official world championship they are the guys with the power to make it so.
With the FIM taking notice of the Hard Enduro focussed World Enduro Super Series, the FIM and the team behind the WESS (WESS Promotion GmbH) have announced that they have agreed to join forces to further enhance the Hard Enduro Sport worldwide.
As a result, the “World Enduro Super Series” will now fall under the greater FIM umbrella and will be renamed to the “FIM Hard Enduro World Championship” with an inaugural season kicking off in May 2021 in Portugal.
“This is a very exciting time for us and our sport, says WESS Promotion GmbH Winfried Kerschhaggl. “Following an incredibly busy time, building and shaping WESS, work is paying off. The past three years helped us to gain the recognition of the FIM. A special thanks from our side goes to Tony Skillington, who has been very supportive since the conversations about a joint project started. We’re ready to take the next step as the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Together with the FIM we move into 2021 with confidence and enthusiasm and look forward to ongoing exciting racing.”
As part of the new partnership, a new Pro-Class in line with all FIM international standards has also been established to offer the highest level of transparency and fairness to professional riders, teams and manufacturers who will compete to win the now official world-recognised title of FIM Hard Enduro World Champion.
At the same time, the active integration of amateur riders into the series which has been a cornerstone of the WESS events to date will stay an inherent and defining characteristic of the series. That means that, if you’ve got the gumption, you too can take on the trails with the world’s best enduro riders.
The hope of the organisers is that the common effort of amateurs and professionals competing within the same race will further attract enthusiasts around the world to participate in FIM Hard Enduro World Championship events and ensuring long-term growth of the championship.
“Every once in a while an opportunity comes to do something very interesting and new in motorcycle sport, says FIM CEO, Tony Skillington. “I am completely convinced that this championship will become a very important part of the FIM calendar in the future and I am more than pleased that we are finally signing a four-year contract for the promotion of a FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. I also appreciate the energy and dedication that both FIM and WESS have deployed together to work on all of the ways to make this championship a success.”
The 2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is set to begin on May 7th with the Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal.
FIM Hard Enduro World Championship 2021 – provisional calendar
Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares - Portugal, May 7/8/9
Round 2: Red Bull Erzbergrodeo - Austria, June 3/4/5/6
Round 3: TBC – Italy, July 10/11
Round 4: Red Bull Romaniacs - Romania, July 27/28/29/30/31
Round 5: Red Bull TKO - USA, August 13/14/15
Round 6: TBC – Poland, September 18/19
Round 7: Hixpania Hard Enduro - Spain, October 1/2/3
Round 8: GetzenRodeo - Germany, October 29/30