The biennial FIM Intercontinental Games (ICG) returns this season for its second edition, taking place from 11–13 December at the Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiânia, Brazil. Teams representing the six FIM Continental Unions (CONUs) – Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania – will compete across circuit racing and motocross.
Each CONU will field twelve riders, with four competing in each of three categories: Supersport (SSP), Supersport 300 (SSP300) and MX2. Both circuit racing classes featured at the inaugural ICG at Jerez, Spain, in 2024, while the addition of MX2 for 2026 extends the competition to off-road racing.
Each CONU may select one ‘specialist’ rider with a permanent place in an FIM World Championship in 2026. Teams must also include at least one female rider per category, who may likewise be a permanent FIM World Championship rider this season. All other selected riders must be considered ‘rising talents’ and must not have competed in an FIM World Championship as permanent riders in 2026.
Yamaha will provide machinery for both circuit racing categories, with fleets of YZF-R7 and YZF-R3 motorcycles available. Motocross competitors will race on locally supplied motorcycles matching each rider’s requested brand and model and complying with FIM regulations.
Continuing our closer look at each CONU’s selection, this week it is the turn of FIM Europe – winner of the first ICG – to go under the spotlight.
With the same mindset as the other five CONUs, the reigning champion has decided to divide its Team Management duties between Cristian Farinelli – who led FIM Europe’s victorious Circuit Racing team in 2024. The Motocross team manager will be confirmed soon.
Aiming to build on the valuable experience gained at the first edition of the ICG at Jerez in Spain, nineteen-year-old Italian Alessandro di Persio returns to the teamand will Captain FIM Europe in the SSP300 category. After running five-five in both his races at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, the following season di Persio was crowned FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup champion and this year he has been showing his potential in the inaugural FIM Sportbike World Championship.
Also in the SSP300 line-up is Elisabetta Monti, who will make her Intercontinental Games debut in Brazil. The sixteen-year-old from Lecco arrives in Goiás on the back of abreakthrough season in which she finished runner-up in the FIM Europe Women’s European Championship. She was also runner-up in the Italian Women’s Championship and gained further international experience earlier this month, finishing fourth at the inaugural GP7 Asia Challenge in Korea.
The third member of FIM Europe’s SSP300 squad, Mallorca-born Marc Vich Gil will celebrate his twentieth birthday just two months before making his ICG debut in Brazil. Winner of the 2024 FIM R3 bLU cRU World Cup title, after missing much of last year through injury he returned to win the 2026 ESBK Spanish Supersport300 Championship.
Concluding its SSP300 selection, FIM Europe’s youngest rider is sixteen-year-old German prospect Fynn Kratochwil who is a two-time German FIM MiniGP Champion, finished this season’s Red Bull Rookies Cup in fifth and currently sits sixth in the FIM Moto4 European Cup.
The overall winner of the Supersport category at Jerez in 2024, Italy’s Elia Bartolini returns to defend his crown as FIM Europe’s Captain in the category. A former CIV Moto3 champion, this season the twenty-three-year-old has contested the inaugural FIM Sportbike World Championship where he scored a top-five race finish at the opening round at Portimão in Portugal and was sixth in race two at Aragon in Spain.
At twenty-five the oldest member of FIM Europe’s team, Italian Nicholas Spinelli has struggled with injury this season, but his pedigree is in no doubt. A two-time winner of the CIV Moto3 title, Spinelli won the 2022 Italian Supersport Next Generation crown and has competed in FIM WorldSSP and FIM MotoE™ and in 2024 won an FIM WorldSBK race at Assen.
Eighteen-year-old British prospect Alfie Davidson who cut his teeth in the 2022 and 2023 British Talent Cup and currently leads the 2026 British Sportbike Championship with one round remaining.
Completing FIM Europe’s Supersport line-up is eighteen-year-old Josephine Bruno from Italy. A veteran of the 2024 competition when she scored eleven-nine finishes, she is the winner of the 2026 FIM Women’s European Championship – claiming race wins at the Czech and Varano rounds – while a wild card appearance at the Emilia-Romagna round of the FIM WorldWCR series earned her a ninth-placed finish in race two.
Spain’s Daniela Guillén is Captain of FIM Europe’s MX2 effort. A regular competitor in the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship since 2021, the twenty-year-old claimed silver in 2023 and 2024 and claimed a bronze last year before finally striking gold in 2026 with three overall victories and a lowest race position of third.
The winner of the 2023 FIM EMX85 title, two years later Nicoló Alvisi was crowned FIM EMX125 champion before graduating to the FIM EMX250 series this season where he finished a very impressive sixth at his first attempt.
Finishing fourth in this year’s hotly-contested FIM EMX250 series, rising Dutch star Gyan Doensen has also contested three rounds of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship and the eighteen-year-old turned more than a few heads with a pair of top-ten finishes in the Czech Republic.
The final member of the MX2 team is Francesco Bellei from Italy. A former winner of the Italian MX Junior 125cc and Italian Pro Prestige MX2 Fast titles, the seventeen-year-old finished this year’s FIM EMX250 series in seventh, despite sitting out two full rounds.
Alessandro Sambuco, FIM Europe General Team Manager, said: “Team Europe arrives in Goiânia with a squad of talented young riders who are motivated, determined and proud to represent our continent on the international stage. As defending champions of the inaugural FIM Intercontinental Games, our riders are ready to take on this new challenge with commitment, team spirit and the ambition to defend the title won in the first edition.
“However, for Team Europe these Games are about much more than sporting performance and results. Europe is the continent where motorcycling was born and where, over more than a century, it has grown and developed into the extraordinary sport we know today. We are proud of this heritage, of our sporting history and, above all, of the values that European motorcycling represents.
“Our riders will therefore arrive in Goiânia not only as competitors, but as true ambassadors of European motorcycle sport – carrying with them our passion, our tradition, our values and our respect for all those who share our sport around the world. We are proud of our team, we are proud of Europe and we are ready for Goiânia.”
Michal Sikora, FIM Europe President, stated: “Winning the inaugural FIM Intercontinental Games two years ago in Jerez was a very important achievement for FIM Europe and a moment of great pride for the entire European motorcycling community. It was an historic first edition and showed the strength, talent and team spirit of our riders on the international stage.
“Now we head to Brazil as defending champions, ready for a new and even more exciting challenge. With Motocross joining the programme alongside Supersport and Supersport 300, there will be more racing, more riders and variety of disciplines, setting the stage for what I am sure will be an epic battle between the Continental Unions.
“Our twelve riders will proudly represent Europe and I am confident they will approach this challenge with determination, professionalism and fair play. We know how special it was to win two years ago and we are ready to give our very best once again in Brazil.”
ABOUT THE FIM (www.fim-moto.com)
The FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) founded in 1904, is the governing body for motorcycle sport and the global advocate for motorcycling. The FIM is an independent association formed by 125 National Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in motorcycle sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Among its 50 FIM World Championships the main events are MotoGP, Superbike, Endurance, Motocross, SuperMoto, Supercross, Trial, Enduro, Cross-Country, Speedway and E-Bikes. Furthermore, the FIM is also active and involved in the following areas: public affairs, road safety, touring and protection of the environment. The FIM was the first international sports federation to impose an Environmental Code in 1994.