Poll Shows Clubs Divided on Vote to Ditch Mosley

Motorsport's governing body is deeply divided on whether to retain Max Mosley as its president, according to a poll carried out by the Guardian.

Tomorrow in Paris the 68-year-old youngest son of the late Sir Oswald Mosley will submit himself to a vote of confidence by the FIA general assembly on his suitability to head the federation after tabloid revelations of his involvement in a sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes in a Chelsea basement. Having canvassed 100 of the 222 clubs which make up the FIA general assembly, the Guardian can reveal that 37% wanted him to go, 25% were set to vote in his favor, 9% were either undecided or not qualified to take part in the voting procedure and 29% declined to comment.

Even though it could be construed that many of the "no comments" will end up voting against Mosley, the poll is remarkable in that it gives the embattled president a fighting chance after two months of remorselessly negative publicity, which culminated on Friday in his long-time collaborator Bernie Ecclestone calling for him to step down to avoid the risk of humiliation. Even now, on the eve of the FIA general assembly meeting, Ecclestone is involved in a delicate balancing act, attempting to protect the wider commercial interests of the formula one business while at the same time remaining loyal to his friend of almost 40 years, with whom he has transformed the sport from a specialized niche interest into a televised global spectacle.

Ecclestone has revealed that there is growing dismay that Mosley did not resign immediately after the story appeared in the News of the World on March 30. "Since the story broke I have been under enormous pressure from the people who invest in formula one, sponsors and manufacturers, over this issue," he said. "They point out that as a chief executive or chief operating officer of a major company they would have gone either immediately or within 24 hours in the same circumstances. They cannot understand why Max has not done the same."

Ecclestone's late intervention means that even if Mosley survives the vote he will effectively become a lame duck president, shunned by major formula one investors and car companies alike.

Yet he continues to believe he will carry the day. If he is proved right there is bound to be speculation that the national clubs' motivation is as much apprehension over just who might replace him - Jean Todt, the former Ferrari principal, Ari Vatanen, the former rally champion, and the former formula one driver Gerhard Berger have been mooted - as confidence that continuing with him is the safer bet.

Mosley may be helped by the FIA's incredibly complex voting system. Many countries have separate clubs responsible for motor sport and "mobility", which is broadly more concerned with everyday aspects of day-to-day motoring.

In the UK, for example, the Motor Sports Association (MSA) is responsible for the administration of motor sport and three clubs - the AA, RAC and the Caravan Club - are grouped under the "mobility" heading. In terms of voting rights at the FIA general assembly the MSA has a single vote and the "mobility" members have one third of a vote each. But if those three clubs cannot agree which way to vote, and to vote together, then their votes will not be counted.

Some FIA insiders explain this complicated method as designed to balance out the influence of the much larger clubs against the smaller ones, although it is not immediately apparent how this would work. Others believe that it is difficult to understand simply because that is the way Mosley likes things.