Motorcycling Australia CEO David White has been elected vice-president of the FIM, taking up the position as one of three vice-presidents after being elected on Tuesday at the 125th FIM Congress held at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, China.

While White had considered standing for one of the vice-president positions at the beginning of the year, he initially decided against it, however prior to the close of nominations he was approached by a number of other Federations to reconsider.

Speaking after the elections, White explained how the voting had taken place.

“There were five candidates standing for three positions and in the first round of voting, Nasser Khalifa Al Atya (Qatar) and Jorge Viegas (Portugal) had the majority of votes to be elected to two of the positions,” White said.

“While I had the third highest number of votes, I didn’t have the necessary majority of 48 votes, so another vote was held between me and Jos Driessen (Belgium), while Paolo Sesti (Italy), who had the lowest total, was out of contention.

“While I didn’t personally campaign vigorously, there were a number of people campaigning on my behalf and many discussions took place throughout the General Assembly.”

The role will see White in a voting position on the Management Council now called the Board – similar to the MA structure however on a global scale, providing Australia with a direct voice to the highest level governing body for Motorcycle Sport.

White went on to say the election was a positive sign for MA’s reputation internationally.

“I think this is a clear indication of the respect shown for Australia, and MA, from within the FIM, and presents us with a great opportunity to have representation at the forefront of International Motorcycle Affairs,” White said.

“MA in particular is highly regarded internationally because of its development of Strategic Planning, and having set up its own insurance company, and I look forward to serving in the position of Vice-President for the next four years.”

A historical number of 98 Federations out of 101 attended the FIM General Assembly, with the members also electing Vito Ippolito FIM president for a second term by 55 votes versus 41 votes cast for his opponent, Jean-Pierre Mougin.

The FIM General Assembly also elected Nasser Khalifa Al Atya (Qatar), Jorge Viegas (Portugal) and White (Australia) as FIM vice-presidents. David Francis (United Kingdom) and Stig Klemetz (Sweden) were elected as internal auditors. All the mandates are for four years.

“I am very pleased with this victory which is more a collective victory of the Federations and the people who have worked hard on the elaboration of the strategic plan and the new governance for the last four years,” Ippolito said. “It is a collective work conducted with transparency and high motivation. We will continue to build altogether the FIM destiny.”

Vito Ippolito is Venezuelan, born on 3 February 1952, and is married with three children. Ippolito is the first non-European elected President of the FIM since its foundation in 1904 and has been since 2006.