Tayla Relph is one of eight riders representing Team Oceania this weekend at Circuito de Jerez, Spain

The FIM Intercontinental Games [ICG] is a new initiative by FIM [Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme] that sees 6 FIM Continental Unions come together where riders (male and female) compete on identical machinery across two categories.

The single-round event will include only two Championship categories, Supersport and Supersport 300. Riders selected for the Supersport grid will line up on identically prepared Yamaha YZF-R7s (the same as those run in WorldWCR), and the Supersport 300 grid will consist of identically prepared Yamaha R3s (the same as those run in the Yamaha R3 World Cup).

Each FIM continent from Oceania, Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and Latin America selected four riders to compete in each category, totalling 8 riders in each team. Each continent’s team had to consist of one female and three males, and only 1 male and one female from each category could be a permanent rider in a World Championship.

Relph, selected to compete in the Supersport category, is no stranger to the Yamaha YZF-R7 as she will be jumping straight back on the same bike she’d raced this season in WorldWCR, but this time with Dunlop tyres.

While she won’t be racing her exact bike, with each machine randomly drawn to each competitor, the ICG gives Relph a strong chance to show her speed against a very competitive field of male riders while hopefully bringing home a strong finish for Team Oceania.

“The ICG is a fantastic opportunity to represent my country in a team capacity and I was excited to know I’d be back on the Yamaha R7 for the event, a bike I have gelled well with all season in the World Championship,” Relph said.

Team Oceania’s Supersport line-up has a strong mix of riders all with world-level experience. Coming off a successful debut World Championship season where she finished 7th in WorldWCR, 27-year-old Tayla Relph will be joined by three-time Australian Superbike Champion Mike Jones, two-time Australian Supersport Champion Tom Toparis, and multiple Australian Superbike podium-getter Max Stauffer.

Team Oceania’s Supersport 300 line-up is also filled with riders with who have international racing experience, with 2024 Australian Supersport runner-up Archie McDonald, Yamaha R3 World Cup race winner Cameron Swain, New Zealand’s Jesse Stroud, and female rider Tara Morrison.

“When it comes to actual bike knowledge, Team Oceania is probably in one of the best placed, as both myself and Cam Swain have ridden on the machinery that we will be racing on throughout the weekend, with the Supersport 300 competitors racing the same bikes as the Yamaha R3 World Cup this season,” Relph said.

“As this is a team event, I believe having this knowledge across both classes gives us a bit of a head start going into the weekend, as we can both assist everyone in the team in getting their heads around the different bikes, so I think this will be a real bonus for Oceania.” Relph ended.

“For me, this is an incredible opportunity to also learn from some of the best riders in Australia who will be riding an identical bike to me, which has the opportunity to really help me going into next year in WorldWCR,”

“The team will be able to share data and analyse how we can get the most out of the R7’s (and those who are racing the R3), but given how precise you have to be with the R7 around Jerez to make a good lap time, I think I will be able to take away so much information from this weekend and apply it into next year’s season, so I’m looking forward to this aspect of the ICG as well and learn from the best of them,” Relph ended.

HOW THE FIM INTERCONTINENTAL GAMES WORKS

In total, 4 races will be run (two in Supersport and two in Supersport 300), with points awarded from 1st to last, essentially every finishing rider scores a point.

1st place will receive 24 points, 2nd place will receive 23 points, 3rd place 22 points, 4th place 21 points, and so forth, right down the last 24 riders.

Those who record a Did Not Start, Disqualification or DNF due to a crash will score 0 points for the team.

The CONU Team with the highest number of accumulated points across all 8 riders in Supersport and Supersport 300 win the overall event.

If a tie persists in the final scoring, the advantage will be given to the team whose female rider made the best score in the last race.

There are also awards for the highest-scoring male and highest-scoring female rider in both the Supersport and Supersport 300 categories.

WHERE & WHEN TO WATCH: LIVESTREAM DETAILS

The FIM Intercontinental Games will be live-streamed, however exact details are still yet to be confirmed. Make sure to follow my social media platforms as I will post exact livestream details to my channel once we are informed.

We do know that Australians will be able to watch on Fox Sport Australia and FIM-Moto.tv.

International streaming platforms such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Discovery Plus. Eurosport Player, and Max will also be streaming the Intercontinental Games throughout the weekend.

Australian times below are listed in AEDT for our Victorian and New South Wales followers, if you’re from Queensland make sure to subtract 1 hour to the times below!