Ecclestone Backs Mosley But Pressure Mounts

Bernie Ecclestone was yesterday standing by Max Mosley as pressure increased on the FIA president to resign in the wake of revelations about his private life. As a succession of national automobile clubs joined car manufacturers in insisting that Mosley's position was untenable, the most powerful man in formula one continued to play down the problem and said it was up to Mosley to make a decision to quit.

"This is solely an FIA matter," said Ecclestone, the formula one commercial rights holder who has worked with Mosley for almost 40 years. "Max is president of the FIA and I am quite sure he knows what should be done and will undoubtedly do it. I'm happy with Max, I don't have any problems at all with Max, it doesn't affect us in any shape or form. It's not what I think, it's what other people think."

Mosley seems determined to ride out the storm and has initiated a fax vote from members of the FIA senate to agree that he can convene a meeting of the governing body's general assembly, made up of 222 clubs in 134 countries, in order to seek a vote of confidence.

However, his chances of surviving were dealt another major blow late last night when the Automobile Club of America, the biggest national club affiliated to the FIA with a membership in excess of 50 million, also demanded that he resign.

The former world champion Sir Jackie Stewart said he was astonished that Mosley was still trying to cling to power. "There is nothing personal in this for me," said Stewart, who was described as a "certified halfwit" last year by Mosley in a spat between the two men over the $100m penalty imposed on the McLaren team for industrial espionage. "He is now in an untenable situation. The FIA involves motor clubs from all around the world with so many different religions, different cultures and sensitivities. If he had a government position in Britain, the US, Germany, or was chairman of a public company or head of the Olympic committee, he would have already gone."

Stewart added: "I am surprised he is still there. It is wrong, and it is wrong that he is convening a special meeting bringing so many people to Paris for an FIA gathering. That's like asking your family if you should go."

Meanwhile, as Mosley marshaled his forces, the Dutch motor sport federation announced that it would vote against him at any FIA general assembly meeting. "Because of his high-profile position this can't be accepted," the federation president, Arie Ruitenbeek, told BBC Sport.

The Dutch reaction came hours after Europe's largest motoring club, Germany's ADAC, wrote to Mosley saying: "The role of an FIA president who represents more than 100m motorists worldwide should not be burdened by such an affair. Therefore, we ask the president to very carefully reconsider his role."

Britain's FIA member associations - the Motor Sports Association, the Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Association - have all refused to comment on what has become the talk of the paddock at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit this weekend. One thing is certain: the Mosley episode has cast a long shadow over the Bahrain grand prix at a time when Ecclestone is straining to develop the Gulf region into a powerhouse of formula one activity.

Next year a grand prix in Abu Dhabi will further expand the calendar and both Dubai and Qatar are keen to join in when a vacancy occurs. Controversies such as this rock the Ecclestone commercial boat at an unwelcome moment and it is widely believed that the groundswell from this episode will be tolerated for only so long.

Last night Mosley served legal proceedings against the News of the World, claiming "unlimited damages" after its exposé in which he was filmed in a sex session with prostitutes.