Princely Get-out for Mosley Lets King Off Hook

Max Mosley will next week attend his first official function since allegations about his personal life appeared in a Sunday newspaper. The 68-year-old president of the FIA, the governing body of world motor sport, has accepted an invitation from Prince Feisal Al-Hussein to attend the Jordan Rally, the first World Rally Championship round to be held in a Middle Eastern country.

The news will come as a relief to the organizers of the Spanish grand prix in Barcelona - both events take place over the weekend of April 25-27 so the tricky issue of whether the king of Spain should receive Mosley on the starting grid appears to have been resolved.

Prince Feisal said he would be backing Mosley in the vote of confidence at the extraordinary meeting of the FIA's general assembly in Paris on June 3 and added: "He has supported us since we announced our bid [to stage the rally] three years ago so we are delighted he will be sharing this historic occasion with us."

Motor sport South Africa's managing director, Beaulah Schoeman, said her organization would vote against the FIA president. "Every single board member agrees that Max Mosley should step down," she said, adding that the meeting was a waste of money and she would not attend. The American, Canadian and Dutch national associations have already demanded that he quit and federations in Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Israel have questioned whether he can survive. But he says he will not resign.

Super Aguri suffered another setback yesterday when the Dubai investors who had planned to fund the purchase of the team by Magma pulled out of the deal, and the Japanese team may fold before the Spanish grand prix.