The UIM has introduced term limits for its President and Administrators. Under the wording adopted, the clock starts again from zero for everyone currently in office.
The change to Article 8.1 of the UIM Statutes was one of nine Statutes proposals adopted by the 99th UIM General Assembly in Sintra, Portugal, on Sunday 25 October. It was submitted by the UIM Council and took effect immediately.
Two More Terms, Starting Now
Before the change, Article 8.1 simply said that Administrators are re-eligible. The amended text reads:
The President and the Administrators are re-eligible for two additional 4-year mandates. (Previous and ongoing mandates on date 1st October 2026 are not to be taken into consideration.) Further mandates are possible with the support of two thirds of the votes of the Full Members present at the General Assembly.
The Council’s justification says the amendment “reflects basic principles of good governance, setting a limit to the number of mandates of the UIM decision makers”. It says the two-thirds option exists “to avoid a possible lack of expertise in cases of shortage of candidates”.
Raffaele Chiulli has been UIM President since 2007. He was elected unopposed to a fifth term, for 2025-2029, at the 98th General Assembly in Shanghai last year. Because mandates held or under way on 1 October 2026 are excluded, none of those five terms counts towards the limit. Read as written, the rule would allow him two further four-year mandates after 2029, taking him to 2037, his 30th year in the post. Beyond that, a two-thirds vote of the Full Members present at a General Assembly could extend his presidency further.
The limit applies only to the President and the Administrators. It says nothing about the presidents of the UIM’s commissions. At Sintra, Bob Wartinger’s 36 years as COMINSAFE president ended at the ballot box rather than by rule.
Secretary General Consulted on F2 and F4 Commissioners
A separate change to the By-Laws alters how UIM Sports Commissioners for F2 and F4 are chosen. Article 8.9.4 previously stated:
The Pool of Formulae Commissioners will be appointed by the Committee Chairman respecting the contract with the promoter
The adopted version reads:
The Sports Commissioners will be appointed by the Committee Chairman in consultation with the UIM Secretary General.
The reference to the promoter’s contract has been deleted, and the UIM Secretary General, Thomas Kurth, now has to be consulted on appointments. The Council’s stated justification for the proposal is “Language cleaning and rewording”.
The same proposal renames the committee to cover the Formula 2 and Formula 4 World and Continental Championships. A separate By-Laws justification notes that the two classes “are now under the same direction and thus have been merged together”.
By-Laws proposals 1 to 32 were adopted at the General Assembly, except proposal 4, which was withdrawn, according to a UIM letter to member federations signed by Kurth.
Council Membership Widened
The General Assembly also amended Article 8.2. Under the old text, the Presidents of the Commissions were the voting members of the Council. Under the new text, the Administrators and the Presidents of both the Commissions and the Committees sit on the Council with a right to vote. The Council now “nominates” its Senior Vice-President, Vice-President and Treasurer instead of electing them.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
